Joe Biden delivered on a promise to get a massive infrastructure bill passed into law. He did it, against all expectations, in a bipartisan way. The signing ceremony Monday at the White House should have been a victory lap. Instead, there are foreboding headlines for Biden and the Democrats.
That’s the philosophical problem for a President who should be having one of the best days of his presidency but is instead struggling to convince Americans he’s accomplished anything. Biden delivered on a promise to get a massive infrastructure bill passed into law — one that had evaded previous presidents. He did it, against all expectations, in a bipartisan way. The signing ceremony attended by members of both parties Monday at the White House should have been a victory lap. Instead, there are foreboding headlines for Biden and the Democrats. New polls suggest Americans don’t understand his accomplishment and blame him for the state of the economy they’re worried about. His approval rating, never extremely strong for a new President, is not too far from Donald Trump territory. Palace intrigue. CNN’s Edward Isaac-Dovere and Jasmine Wright reported this weekend about mutual frustration between the White House and the office of Vice President Kamala Harris. I’ll just share the first paragraph of the story, which is backed up with exhaustive reporting: Worn out by what they see as entrenched dysfunction and lack of focus, key West Wing aides have largely thrown up their hands at Vice President Kamala Harris and her staff — deciding there simply isn’t time to deal with them right now, especially at a moment when President Joe Biden faces quickly multiplying legislative and political concerns. These are not the types of stories that trickle out when things are going according to plan. White House press secretary Jen Psaki jumped to Harris‘ defense via Twitter on Sunday night. „For anyone who needs to hear it. @VP is not only a vital partner to @POTUS but a bold leader who has taken on key, important challenges facing the country—from voting rights to addressing root causes of migration to expanding broadband,“ tweeted Psaki. Americans don’t get it yet. The Washington Post headline for a new Post-ABC News poll was grim: „Biden approval hits new low as economic discontent rises.“ I asked CNN’s director of polling and election research, Jennifer Agiesta, how we should be viewing these polls. What kind of a drop is this? „There certainly hasn’t been much good news for Biden in any of the recent polling — his numbers are not in great shape — but the way that polls are sometimes reported may make it sound a little worse than it actually is,“ said Agiesta. „While Biden has reached new lows recently in several polls, the previous comparison points for some of those polls were a while ago.
