One year into Joe Biden’s first term as president, it’s safe to say that the Democrat’s performance has not met lofty expectations. His average approval rating, at 49% according to Gallup, is better than Republican Donald Trump’s was at this point, but that’s not saying much. Trump’s 38% was the lowest first-year approval rating of any president post World War II, and all other presidents since then — except Biden — have averaged 57% or higher.
Of course, those presidents didn’t start off in year two of a pandemic that not only has wreaked havoc on our mental and physical health, but the economy and the supply chain. The latter is backlogged largely because of a worker shortage (due to illness or disillusion) amid increased demand for goods. And how much any president can affect that is debatable, despite Biden’s release of an “action plan” aimed at rebuilding U.S. supply chains. Still, 62% of registered voters blame Biden at least in part for the blockage, according to a poll conducted by Politico and the Morning Consult.
Wednesday, on the eve of his year anniversary, the president held what was only his second formal news conference since taking office. He defended his governance, claiming to have “done remarkably well” despite significant pushback from Republicans. “I did not anticipate that there would be such a stalwart effort to make sure that the most important thing was that President Biden didn’t get anything done,” he complained.
