OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Joe Biden’s approval ratings are once again approaching the lowest level of his presidency even though his Democratic Party did better in the November midterms than many analyses had predicted.
According to a new Reuters survey, roughly 40 percent of Americans approve of Biden’s job performance, just a tad higher than his 39 percent approval rating from December. In May and June of 2022, however, Biden’s approval sank to just 36 percent in the same poll as inflation hit highs along with gasoline and diesel prices.
Democrats managed to increase their majority in the Senate by one seat, while Republicans took back control of the House with a narrow majority, making Biden’s next two years in terms of getting his agenda through much more difficult.
Biden’s falling approval rating comes as inflation continues to remain higher than normal, oil prices are starting rise again, companies are laying off tens of thousands of workers, and he faces a new scandal regarding his potentially illegal possession of classified documents.
Meanwhile, a growing number of Senate Democrats say they are alarmed by the fact that President Joe Biden was in possession of at least dozens of classified documents potentially violating the law, and they support a full investigation into the matter.
Unlike former President Donald Trump, who — as head of the Executive Branch — had the authority to declassify documents virtually at will, Biden, as a U.S. senator and even as Barack Obama’s vice president, never did, so the fact that he had them at all is troubling to a growing number of Dems, Fox News reported.
“The reports about President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents are extremely irresponsible and disturbing. These allegations should be investigated fully,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), told the network on Friday.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who was Hillary Clinton’s running mate in 2016, agreed.
“This news raises serious questions and the appointment of an unbiased special prosecutor to investigate the matter is the right step,” Kaine said.
“Classified documents belong in classified settings, and I think you heard me say oversight is not a partisan thing. Good oversight means you’re willing to hold any rule breaker to account,” Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) added. “We should be asking for answers in a respectful way, and we should be expecting to get honest ones.”
“Well, it’s certainly embarrassing. Right?” retiring Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow said during an interview on NBC last week. “I mean, it’s embarrassing that you would find a small number of documents, certainly not on purpose. They don’t think it’s the right thing, and they’ve been moving to correct it, working with the Department of Justice, working with everyone involved, with the [National] Archives, and so from my perspective, you know, it’s one of those moments that obviously they wish hadn’t happened.”
In June, a brutal survey found that the vast majority of respondents do not think that Biden should run again in 2024.
According to the Yahoo/YouGov survey, 64 percent said Biden shouldn’t run, or 9 points worse than Trump.
What’s more, the same survey found that Trump beats Biden in a head-to-head rematch, according to Mediaite, though 55 percent said they did not want the former president to run again, either.
In the ‘yes’ column, Biden polled at 21 percent versus 31 percent for Trump.
There was more bad news for Biden in the survey as well. Even among Democrats, most would not encourage him to seek reelection: Just 42 percent want him to, while just over one-third, or 36 percent, said he shouldn’t.
Meanwhile, a good majority of Republicans — 58 percent — would encourage Trump to run again, while just one-quarter, or 25 percent, would not.
Even worse, just 40 percent of those who voted for him in 2020 want him to run again; 37 percent do not. In a rematch, according to the poll, Trump wins 42 percent to 39 percent.
Overall, Biden’s approval ratings had been in a freefall for nearly a year prior to that survey, reaching a level that was below that of his predecessor.
What’s more, according to NBC News in late May, Biden wasn’t pleased with being undermined after nearly every major policy statement he makes, becoming particularly peeved by aides and underlings who quickly ‘correct the record’ and ‘explain what he really meant.’
