#cnwtalkup: Is Joe Biden Doing A Good Job As President So Far
In January 2021, Joe Biden took office as the 46th president of the United States, inheriting a country battling the worst virus outbreak in a century, along with racial tension and immigration issues. President Biden promised, like all other Presidents before him, to work assiduously to fix these correct these issues.
It is now nine months into his Presidency, and there has already been major moves like a sweeping vaccine mandate, withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan, a hate crimes bill, and most recently, the mass expulsion of migrants at the border.
With all that has happened in the United States in the last nine months, we asked some of our readers if they think that President Biden is doing a good job so far. Here are the responses:
Ludnie Joseph: I feel as though hes doing the best he can given the circumstances the nation was left in after the Trump administration. Heres the thing, presidents arent people-pleasers, they strive to meet the needs of the people but inevitably it is impossible to do so. Unfortunately, they look like the bad guys because they cant deliver or succumb to promises they made in the heat of running for office.
Tony Garcia: Losing a war undermines the publics trust in any leader. But the setback causing the most damage to Joe Bidens political standing likely isnt the U.S. military defeat in Afghanistanits the frustrating home-front struggle against the resurgent coronavirus pandemic.
Achieving A Secure Border
Secured the Southern Border of the United States.
- Built over 400 miles of the worlds most robust and advanced border wall.
- Illegal crossings have plummeted over 87 percent where the wall has been constructed.
- Deployed nearly 5,000 troops to the Southern border. In addition, Mexico deployed tens of thousands of their own soldiers and national guardsmen to secure their side of the US-Mexico border.
- Ended the dangerous practice of Catch-and-Release, which means that instead of aliens getting released into the United States pending future hearings never to be seen again, they are detained pending removal, and then ultimately returned to their home countries.
- Entered into three historic asylum cooperation agreements with Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala to stop asylum fraud and resettle illegal migrants in third-party nations pending their asylum applications.
- Entered into a historic partnership with Mexico, referred to as the Migrant Protection Protocols, to safely return asylum-seekers to Mexico while awaiting hearings in the United States.
Fully enforced the immigration laws of the United States.
Ended asylum fraud, shut down human smuggling traffickers, and solved the humanitarian crisis across the Western Hemisphere.
Secured our Nations immigration system against criminals and terrorists.
Protected American workers and taxpayers.
How Is Trump Characterizing The Outbreak
About half of Americans say that Trumps public comments on the coronavirus outbreak are making the situation seem better than it really is. Fewer say he is presenting the situation about as it really is, while just 8% say he is making the situation seem worse than it really is.
Adults with higher levels of educational attainment are particularly likely to say Trump is presenting the situation too positively: 69% of those with a postgraduate degrees say this, as do 63% of those with a four-year college degree. Those with less education especially those with a high school diploma or less are more likely to take the view that Trump is presenting the situation about as it really is.
Nearly seven-in-ten Republicans say Trump is characterizing the outbreak accurately, including 76% of conservative Republicans. A narrower majority of moderate and liberal Republicans say the same, while 37% of this group say Trump is making the situation seem better than it really is.
About three-quarters of Democrats say Trump is making the situation seem better than it really is, with liberals more likely than conservatives and moderates to say this .
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What Is The Job Situation
As the United States and other countries went into lockdown to control the spread of COVID-19, the job market plummeted when businesses laid off and furloughed employees.
In March, the United States lost 1.4 million jobs and a record 20.8 million more in April, according to Department of Labor statistics.
As lockdowns started to lift, the Labor Department reported 2.5 million jobs were added in May and another 4.8 million jobs were added in June.
However, the department also reported that 1.4 million workers filed initial jobless claims that last week in June, meaning lots of people are still newly reporting being unemployed.
The unemployment rate now is11.1%. In April, it was 14.7%, dropping in May to 13.3%. To put that in perspective, the unemployment rate spiked at 10% during the Great Recession and 10.8% in June 1983. And despite jobs regained, the country is still down nearly 15 million jobs compared to February.
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Presidential Job Approval Center
Presidential job approval is a simple, yet powerful, measure of the public’s view of the U.S. president’s job performance at a particular point in time.
The approval ratings reported here are based on periodic multiday Gallup polls for Presidents Harry Truman through George W. Bush weekly Gallup Daily tracking averages for President Barack Obama weekly Gallup Daily tracking averages for President Donald Trump in 2017 and 2018 and periodic multiday Gallup polls for Trump starting in 2019. Learn more.
Explore public opinion metrics that matter for the 2020 presidential election. Visit Gallup’s 2020 Presidential Election Center to compare key indicators that put the 2020 election in historical context.
Buy a subscription to our database, Gallup Analytics, to access and export weekly, monthly and yearly presidential job approval ratings.
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Things Donald Trump Did As President You Might Have Missed
Trumps presidency may be best remembered for its cataclysmic end. But his four years as president also changed real American policy in lasting ways, just more quietly. We asked POLITICOs best-in-class policy reporters to recap some of the ways Trump changed the country while in office, for better or worse.
01/18/2021 06:30 AM EST
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Many Americans will remember President Donald Trumps presidency as a four-yearlong storm of tweets, rallies and on-air rants that ended in a mob riot and historic second impeachment. But there was more to the Trump presidency than attention-hogging political drama and conflict often unnoticed, Trump and his administration actually did succeed in changing some of the ways Washington works.
From imposing a ban on Chinese-made drones to rolling back rules on sexual harassment, from cracking down on robocalls to letting states legalize marijuana, Trump changed some key areas of federal policy in ways that may have lasting impact well after hes gone.
But heres the thing between all the news coverage of the president himself, a global pandemic and various other upheavals, theres a good chance you missed a lot of them. So here is POLITICOs list of 30 important policy changes Trump made as president, how theyve affected our lives, families and businesses, and the prospects they will survive the incoming Biden administration.
The Claim: ‘trump Shatters World History Two Months In A Row’ With Millions Of Jobs Added In May And In June
A claims lightning strikes twice for President Donald Trump after two months of jobs being added to the economy.
The graphic, with the headline “Trump shatters world history two months in a row” and posted July 2 by Michael A. French, points to 2.5 million jobs that were created in May and 4.8 million jobs created in June all during COVID-19 lockdowns and massive violent riots. It says no American president in history averaged higher than 224,000 jobs in one month.
French did not respond to USA TODAY’S request for comment.
Are the job claims true?
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Trumps Handling Of Coronavirus Outbreak
While evaluations of Donald Trumps handing of specific issues related to the coronavirus outbreak are fairly similar to his overall job rating , Americans view Trumps performance on some dimensions better than on others.
Trump receives his most positive ratings for how he is addressing the economic needs of businesses facing financial difficulties. About half of Americans say the president is doing an excellent or good job addressing the needs of businesses, while 48% say Trump is doing an only fair or poor job.
Slim majorities say that Trump is doing an only fair or poor job of addressing the economic needs of ordinary people affected by the outbreak , working with state governors and responding to the needs of hospitals, doctors and nurses .
Trump gets lower ratings for providing accurate information about the coronavirus to the public. A majority says Trump is doing an only fair or poor job of providing accurate information, including about four-in-ten who say he is doing a poor job of this. About four-in-ten say Trump is doing an excellent or good job of providing accurate information.
Democrats rate Trump most positively when it comes to addressing the economic needs of businesses, with one-quarter of Democrats saying he is doing an excellent or good job of this. Republicans are much more positive. About eight-in-ten Republicans and GOP leaners say Trump is doing an excellent or good job of addressing the needs of businesses impacted by the outbreak.
Failure: America’s Global Image Is In Shambles
America’s global image declined significantly under Trump, who repeatedly insulted key US allies while cozying up to dictators.
The former president’s tendency to push important allies away and isolate the US, including by pulling out of landmark international agreements like the Paris climate accord, had a palpable impact.
People across the world expressed negative views on Trump. Pew Research Center in January 2020 released a survey of 32 countries that showed a median of 64% said they do not have confidence in Trump to do the right thing in world affairs, and just 29% expressed confidence in the president.
Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic also left the US embarrassed on the world stage, and created a void in global leadership that China has rushed to fill.
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How Do Americans View Bidens Handling Of The Pandemic And The Economy
Most Americans think Biden is handling the coronavirus pandemic far better than Trump. Sixty-two percent approve of how Biden has managed the U.S. response so far. Another 30 percent say they disapprove.
Chart by Megan McGrew/PBS NewsHour
The publics approval of Bidens actions far exceeds that earned by Trumps leadership during the pandemic. His highest approval rating was 18 points lower, at 44 percent in March 2020, the same month the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic and Trump labeled it a public health emergency. From there, his approval on handling the pandemic dropped as low as 37 percent, recovering slightly to 39 percent by the time he left office in January.
But Americans have less faith in Bidens ability to heal the nations wounded economy compared to Trump. While 46 percent of U.S. adults approve of how Biden has managed the economy, another 41 percent do not approve. During Trumps last days in office, half of Americans said they approved of the former presidents handling of the economy, a sentiment thatTrump leveraged throughout his presidency and in his 2020 campaign for a second term.
Keanu Adams, 25, of Vacaville, California, said he voted for Biden and hopes the president recognizes the country needs more than public health and economic fixes right now.
The nation needs to uproot systemic problems to address what is really wrong, Adams said.
Failure: Family Separations And The Deaths Of Migrant Children
Trump in 2016 campaigned on reducing undocumented immigration, pledging to take a hardline approach.
He made good on that promise when coming into office, but was accused of human-rights abuses and violating international law by the UN.
The Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy on illegal border crossings led to the separations of at least 5,500 families and saw children placed in cages.
The president of the American Academy of Pediatrics at the time described the practice as “nothing less than government-sanctioned child abuse.”
After widespread backlash, Trump issued an executive order in June 2018 to halt the family separations, and a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reunite all those it had separated. But the fallout from the separations is ongoing.
Trump falsely blamed his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, for the policy that saw thousands of children separated from their parents.
At least six migrant children died in US custody, leading to widespread condemnation of conditions in detention facilities.
The UN human-rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, in July 2019 said she was “shocked” by the US government’s treatment of migrant children and the conditions they faced in detention facilities after crossing the border from Mexico.
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Convention Gives Trump A Chance To Explain How He’ll Make America Great Again Again
Trump may also be getting a pass on the economy because Americans are more concerned with other problems, including race relations and especially the pandemic itself.
“People see COVID as the problem and the economy as a symptom,” says Lydia Saad, director of U.S. social research for Gallup. “They’re viewing sort of like a hurricane. Something that’s happened. It’s come in. It’s created all sorts of havoc. But it’s going to go away and things are going to get back to normal.”
That’s how Mark Schneider sees it. He retired from the Navy after 20 years on nuclear submarines and now runs an advocacy group for nuclear power. Last week, as the S& P 500 stock index was heading for a record high, Schneider tweeted that the Trump economy is “unstoppable.” He thinks the recession will soon pass.
Failure: Iran Syria And Afghanistan
Trump’s decision to unilaterally withdraw the US from the 2015 nuclear deal in May 2018 has induced chaos throughout the Middle East.
It remains one of Trump’s most unpopular decisions in the global arena, and has been condemned by top US allies who were also signatories to the deal.
The former president failed to thwart Iran’s aggressive behavior in the region through a maximum pressure campaign, meant to squeeze Tehran into negotiating a more stringent version of the pact.
After a series of incidents in the Persian Gulf region in 2019, tensions between Washington and Tehran reached historic heights and sparked fears of war. These fears were exacerbated after Trump ordered a strike that killed Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, in early January 2020. The strike led Iran to retaliate and fire on US troops in the region, and dozens were seriously injured.
Iran also abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal, which was designed to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Trump’s decision to pull US troops out of northern Syria in October 2019 was also among his most disastrous foreign policy moves. In doing so, Trump effectively abandoned US-allied Kurdish forces who bore the brunt of the US-led campaign against ISIS to a Turkish military invasion.
The withdrawal induced a humanitarian crisis and created a security vacuum that Russia, Iran, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an accused war criminal, all benefited from.
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