A MSNBC anchor asked why President Biden’s “popularity” on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was helping his historic low poll numbers.
Garrett Haake, MSNBC’s “MTP Daily”, guest host, discussed the plans of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President to address Congress virtually on Wednesday. Although Zelenskyy was praised for his response to Russia’s invasion and received favorable coverage, Biden has been criticized.
“President Biden is not getting a Zelenskyy boost. Haake stated that the polling is fascinating when you take a look at it.
MSNBC’s host pointed out that although Biden’s policies have been “popular”, he has received low approval ratings repeatedly.
“Why is Joe Biden not given credit for the popular things Joe Biden does?” Haake posed the question to the panel.
Maria Teresa Kumar, a MSNBC contributor, agreed. She noted that Biden did not receive a boost in the polls following the passage of the bipartisan $1.2 billion infrastructure bill in November. She argued, however, that Biden’s problems lie primarily in communicating with the American people.
“And if Biden could go head-to-center and start talking about why and at the time go into that place – I think this was discussed last time – then go into those communities where Republicans vetoed and decided not to vote on the infrastructure bill and actually go into there and say, ‘This ribbon cutting is because I’m the President of the United States and I’m bringing back jobs [sic Kumar]
She complimented Biden’s plans to attend the NATO summit on March 24, to address the Russian invasion. She claimed that it would “demonstrate once more that America is back and that leadership is back and that you can rely on our word.”
Geoff Bennett, a correspondent for PBS Newshour, stated that media interest has probably influenced public opinion by avoiding positive coverage about the president.
“[T]he White House also blames us media professionals, present and future, for moving the goalposts. For a year, the question was: Can this administration manage to end this 100-year-old pandemic? Bennett stated that now, as the pandemic is becoming an endemic, it is all about inflation, and gas prices.
He added that, although it might sound Pollyannaish, sometimes the reward for presidential leadership is its own reward. Biden’s leadership might be rewarded by history books in ways that voters may not see coming November.
Some polls suggest that Biden’s State of the Union speech gave a slight boost to his approval rating, but he has always received low to mid-to-high 40s approval ratings. While most Americans approve of Biden’s decision to ban Russian oil imports in response to the invasion of Iraq, another majority disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy.
