Joe Biden’s speech on July 4th, 2021 “marked a crossroads” for his presidency as he pledged that America was coming back from a series of social and economic crises; but one year later, his approval rating has plummeted as a flood of new woes plagues the country.
As reported by Fox News, the Associated Press describes Biden’s tenure as having been in a “steep slide” over the last year.
“As Biden approaches his second Fourth of July in the White House, his standing couldn’t be more different,” the AP says, in part. “A series of miscalculations and unforeseen challenges have Biden struggling for footing as he faces a potentially damaging verdict from voters in the upcoming midterm elections.”
Last year, Biden used the occasion of Independence Day to declare that the United States was “closer than ever to declaring our independence from a deadly virus.” But just a few weeks later, the India variant of the coronavirus, also known as the “Delta” variant, suddenly emerged on the world’s stage and proved to be even more contagious than previous strains; this led to many mask and vaccine mandates being reimposed across the country, which generated backlash against the more authoritarian and restrictive measures.
“That sunny speech one year ago marked a crossroads for Biden’s presidency,” the AP’s Chris Megerian and Zeke Miller continued. “The pandemic appeared to be waning, the economy was booming, inflation wasn’t rising as quickly as today and public approval of his job performance was solid.”
Roughly a month later, Biden would have his first major failure as president, with the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan that led to 13 American troops dying in a suicide attack as the Taliban suddenly reclaimed control of the country. The hasty withdrawal, with its lack of preparation and disastrous rollout leading to the deaths of Americans and Afghan civilians, resulted in worldwide condemnation.
Since then, Biden’s approval ratings have tanked; shortly after the Afghanistan debacle, his disapproval ratings became higher than his approval ratings, and they have remained that way ever since. In the months following Afghanistan, Biden has faced numerous other crises in America and around the world, including the supply chain crisis, record-high inflation, an energy crisis and soaring gas prices, and another foreign disaster with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
As a result of these numerous crises, the AP noted that Biden had become “suddenly a reactive president” who “has been left trying to reclaim the initiative at every step.”
In July of 2021, the AP recorded Biden’s approval rating at 59 percent. In their latest poll, he sits at just 39 percent. Other notably low polls for Biden include two Quinnipiac polls, one in January and one in June of this year, which both had his approval at just 33 percent. A recent CIVIQS poll had him at his lowest approval rating yet, with only 31 percent approving of his performance.
Historian Douglas Brinkley, speaking to the AP, compared Biden’s “independence” speech on July 4th, 2021 to George W. Bush’s infamous “mission accomplished” speech, as an example of optimistic rhetoric that was used far too soon.
“He was trying to deliver good news but it didn’t pan out for him,” said Brinkley. “Suddenly, Biden lost a lot of good will.”
Polling now overwhelmingly indicates that Biden’s Democratic Party is set to lose control of the U.S. House of Representatives this November, and may lose their razor-thin majority in the U.S. Senate as well.