“On the Holmes Front,” with Frank Holmes
Joe Biden probably wishes he never bought a TV set.
They were all the rage when Biden was growing up in the ’50s. The whole neighborhood would gather together in the house of somebody who owned one to watch Uncle Miltie and Jack Benny.
Now, Biden’s watching a new show called Freefall… and his poll numbers are the star of the show.
Biden’s approval rating hit a new low. He thought he bottomed out at 38% last week, but there’s a new national poll from Quinnipiac University that puts President Joe Biden’s approval rating at 36%. That means only about one out of every three Americans think Biden’s doing a good job.
An ABC poll put Biden’s approval rating at 41 percent, but that had bad news, too: Independents disapproved by double digits: 58 percent against Biden versus only 35 percent in favor. Republicans with favorable views of the president are even harder to find.
So in other words, you pretty much have to be a Democrat to love Biden… and even there, he’s got problems.
Nobody’s under any illusions about what that means: CNN’s Chris Cillizza said the poll has “very dire” news for Biden’s presidency. This is dangerous territory—not just for the president but for everyone tied to him.
And here’s another problem Joe’s seeing every time he looks at the TV: He’s alone.
He’s getting no help from his vice president, Kamala Harris. She’s too worried about turning around her own approval numbers, which are even lower than his. Only 28 percent of Americans approve of Kamala’s performance. What’s more, she and her friends have convinced themselves that the president is to blame.
“She’s the No. 2 in the Biden administration and her boss’s numbers are not good,” wrote USA Today. But that wouldn’t explain why her numbers are lower than his.
And the cackling probably doesn’t help, either.
And there are problems for Biden coming in the 2022 midterm elections, where he’s certain to lose his paper-thin majority in what’s shaping up to look like a Red Wave.
The Quinnipiac poll shows Americans want Republicans to take control of Congress, 46 percent to 38 percent.
To keep their jobs, some Democrats in swing districts or areas that lean Republican have decided they don’t want anything to do with Joe Biden.
They’ve jumped the Biden-Harris ship and started calling themselves “normal Democrats,” Democrats who say they aren’t like the three-ring circus on the Potomac.
So, Biden decided this week that he wanted to make a little news and get himself on the TV. He went on a speaking tour to brag about the $1 trillion dollars he spent on “infrastructure.”
Biden found the perfect metaphor for his presidency this week, as he campaigned for the “Build Back Better” plan: a broken down, decrepit bridge in Woodstock, New Hampshire.
He said, “Folks, when you see these projects start in your hometowns, I want you to feel what I feel…. Pride!” What he meant was he wanted people to think warm, fuzzy thoughts about the Biden administration… but there’s not much sign that will happen.
Americans approve of infrastructure spending, but they aren’t giving Biden credit for it, polls show. Instead, surveys show that Americans think Biden’s not mentally fit for office, he’s in bad health, and he’s out of touch with Americans.
Imagine how it’s going to feel when Joe Biden comes to town to give his endorsement to candidates next year in the midterms.
Is Biden an endorsement or the kiss of death?
That’s got Democratic candidates, like Beto O’Rourke who wants to run for governor of Texas against Greg Abbott, shaking in their boots.
A new UT/Texas Tribune Poll shows that Texans disapprove of Biden’s job as president by a 20-point margin.
O’Rourke’s endorsement helped Biden beat back Bernie Sanders during the 2020 presidential primaries, but it’s not going to work the other way.
“When Beto took the stage that night to endorse President Biden, it electrified not only that room but the surging Biden campaign,” the Democratic candidate for Texas lieutenant governor told the Texas Tribune.
And, as the polls show, it’s not just Texas.
“This is just gonna feel different,” said Zack Malitz, a Texas Democratic consultant.
“This is gonna be a tough midterm for Democrats,” said Malitz.
How long will it be before Joe Biden takes a page out of Elvis Presley’s book and shoots his TV?
Frank Holmes is a veteran journalist and an outspoken conservative that talks about the news that was in his weekly article, “On The Holmes Front.”