OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
President Joe Biden stumbled over his words again this week after the 80-year-old mixed up his geography while discussing railroads.
During a speech at the League of Conservation Voters’ annual dinner in Washington, D.C., the president riled up social media when he spoke about constructing a railway line “across” the world’s third-largest ocean. Biden’s comment came as he criticized China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a series of Chinese-led infrastructure projects around the world.
“China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road, is one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects ever conceived. Launched in 2013 by President Xi Jinping, the vast collection of development and investment initiatives was originally devised to link East Asia and Europe through physical infrastructure. In the decade since, the project has expanded to Africa, Oceania, and Latin America, significantly broadening China’s economic and political influence,” the Council on Foreign Relations reported.
According to the White House transcript, Biden said, “We have plans to build a railroad from the Pacific all the way across the Indian Ocean. We have plans to build in—in Angola one of the largest solar plants in the world. I can go on, but I’m not. I’m going off-script. I’m going to get in trouble.”
A video clip of the remarks quickly went viral on Twitter and racked up millions of views this week. The video also received an abundance of responses from a number of high-profile figures.
WATCH:
BIDEN: “We have plans to build a railroad from the Pacific all the way across the Indian Ocean” pic.twitter.com/p3yvuaupsF
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 15, 2023
It did not take long for many social media users to respond to Biden’s tweet, with some calling his presidency “elder abuse.”
Elder abuse
— Randi Novak (@rnovak1111) June 15, 2023
Ambitious. pic.twitter.com/Ox4xoJ2o9j
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) June 15, 2023
Imagine 4 more years of this..
— Kevin (@KevinWitte_10) June 15, 2023
You want grounds for impeachment @HouseGOP
How about insanity— AppSame (@AppSame) June 15, 2023
Biden continues to get bad news regarding his presidency.
A new CNN poll conducted by SSRS found that two-thirds of respondents do not want Biden to run again. Further, the survey indicates that Biden’s approval rating may have declined after Democrats’ performance in the 2022 elections exceeded expectations.
Biden’s approval rating stands at 42%, with a disapproval rating of 57%.
The poll also showed that when it comes to Americans who believe that Biden should serve a second term, his approval ratings are much lower. Only 32% of Americans believe that he deserves another term in office, while 67% believe he does not. However, Biden’s numbers are a little better among registered voters, with 36% saying he deserves another term compared to 61% who believe he does not.
A majority of registered Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents also do not support Biden running for another term. The poll found that 44% of this group favored Biden as the Democratic Party’s nominee for the 2024 presidential election, while 54% said that someone else should be given the opportunity, the Daily Wire said, citing the survey’s results.
When asked who they would like to replace Biden as the Democratic Party’s nominee in 2024, most Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (69%) did not have a specific answer beyond “just someone besides Joe Biden.” Among those who specified someone else, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was the top pick with 5%, followed by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg with 4%. Vice President Kamala Harris and former First Lady Michelle Obama tied for third place, each receiving 3% of the responses.
Biden’s lack of popularity is also reflected in his approval rating on major policy issues, which is underwater in every category. His approval rating is in the 30s for three issues: the economy at 37% approve to 62% disapprove, immigration at 35% to 63%, and gun policy at 37% to 62%. Environmental policy is Biden’s best issue, with a 46% to 52% rating, but he is still underwater in this area as well, the survey found.
Biden has yet to make a formal announcement about his candidacy for the 2024 election, but he has reportedly been telling his allies that it’s a matter of when not if. CNN reported that he told one elected official several weeks ago, “I am definitely running.”
In February, a Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll found that former President Donald Trump led Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in hypothetical 2024 match-ups.
Around the same time, an AP-NORC poll asked: “Who should lead the Democratic Party?” Just 12 percent said it ought to be Biden.
