Joe Biden

2022 - 3 - 2

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Vanity Fair"

Joe Biden Said What Americans Needed to Hear: “We're Going to ... (Vanity Fair)

The president's State of the Union speech wasn't going to solve all his political problems, but he needed to sound reassuring in a moment of compounding ...

There are brighter days ahead.’ Those lines about, ‘We’re going to be okay’? That’s what people wanted to hear, and what they are going to remember.” “But it’s not going to be like before, where we were kind of negotiating every odd and end of the proposal in public. Biden used the SOTU to highlight the ongoing boom in employment and the increase in wages. “But at a time when so many Americans are rightfully anxious about things they feel are out of their control—they don’t understand inflation, we’ve been under the wet blanket of the pandemic for going on three years—the president needs to be the cheerleader in chief. “Ukraine is not going to be helpful,” a Senate Democratic insider says. To that extent, Biden did everything he could to help set himself up for greater gains, especially legislative ones, during the coming year.

Biden bids to talk up ailing agenda after State of the Union draws ... (The Guardian)

President travels to Wisconsin to tout infrastructure bill, as Republicans support him over Russia but criticize domestic plans.

I’m afraid that he realises this is going to be a disastrous midterm election, and he just doesn’t know how to turn the ship around.” He pointed to progress against the pandemic since last year, with a dramatic reduction in cases, readily available vaccines and tests, and new therapeutics soon becoming more accessible. “The disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal did more than cost American lives; it betrayed our allies and emboldened our enemies.” Lauren Boebert, a far right Republican congresswoman, heckled: “You put them in: 13 of them!” – a reference to 13 service personnel killed during the Afghan evacuation. The national opinion poll, conducted from 28 February to 1 March, found that 43% of adults approve of Biden’s performance in office while 54% disapprove and the rest were not sure. Ukraine was inevitably the opening topic, drawing rare bipartisan support, but ultimately made up less than a fifth of Biden’s remarks.

Joe Biden had a successful State of the Union address, but he ... (USAPP American Politics and Policy)

With his approval numbers dipping below 40 percent, President Joe Biden needed a "reset" from his State of the Union address last evening.

Biden’s favorability numbers are hovering in the upper 30s, and the split between Americans who want Republicans instead of Democrats in charge of Congress is about 10 percentage points. He said that Russia underestimated the extent of global unity in rebuking Putin’s attack on Ukraine, and spoke forcefully about how countries that violate national sovereignty will “pay a price.” By far, Biden’s comments on Ukraine were the most politically consequential of the evening. On the economy, Biden emphasized strong GDP and employment growth, but insisted that he understood the pain of inflation reaching a 40-year peak. On domestic policy, he promoted his bipartisan infrastructure bill, but conceded the need to make inroads on climate change, universal pre-K, and childcare. In this Q&A, Thomas Gift analyzes Biden’s prime time speech before Congress, memorable moments from his remarks, and whether Biden can build on his momentum in time to turn around Democratic fortunes for the 2022 midterms.

Joe Biden closes US airspace to Russian flights as he vows Putin ... (iNews)

The US President vowed to go after the 'ill-begotten gains' of Russian oligarchs who have benefited from Moscow's 'violent regime'

However the US is understood to be preparing a further package of measures to target Russian oligarchs, their companies and assets. Mr Biden said the West was holding Mr Putin accountable and that the Russian president was “now isolated from the world more than he has ever been”. Russian oil sales have so far remained exempt from US sanctions.

Marjorie Taylor Greene wildly claims Biden is being blackmailed by ... (The Independent)

“The president of the United States is totally compromised because every world leader has contents of Hunter Biden's laptop and much more to blackmail him,” Ms ...

The US has around 9,000 and 2,000 troops stationed in Poland and Romania respectively. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. This is why I have introduced four articles of impeachment on Joe Biden,” she added.

Joe Biden is in denial (Spiked)

Heading into last night's State of the Union address, US president Joe Biden faced a grim political situation. Some 70 per cent of Americans believe the ...

Perhaps Biden hopes his handling of the war in Ukraine will boost his image at home. Much of it was a reassertion of his ‘Build Back Better’ agenda – but this time without that branding, as that approach has failed to gain enough support in Congress from both his own party and from Republicans. Biden struck a note of empathy for Americans feeling the pain of inflation, but he didn’t take ownership of how his policies (including his $1.9 trillion in public spending) have contributed to higher prices. Instead, he promised to make more goods in America, calling his approach ‘building a better America’. Increasing productive capacity in the US is a good idea, but Biden didn’t address why there has been so little investment in this to date – perhaps because this would have to include the environmental and other regulations he has imposed on the economy. But judging by his speech, it seems that Biden and his team have no idea of the degree of Americans’ disenchantment with him. Before the war in Ukraine erupted, higher electricity, petrol and gas prices had already driven up the cost of living for Americans and Europeans alike. The State of the Union was an opportunity for Biden to start to turn things around.

Biden calls for a 'reset' and to drop 'partisan divide' over COVID (Daily Mail)

President Biden, facing an average approval rating of just 41.1 percent, seems to be changing his tone ahead of this year's midterm elections, ...

'And, if Congress provides the funds we need, we’ll have new stockpiles of tests, masks, and pills ready if needed. Adding to that historical precedent, a president's approval rating is also a good indicator of how many seats his party will lose. 'Under these new guidelines, most Americans in most of the country can now be mask free. 'We will continue to combat the virus as we do other diseases. The president continued: 'For more than two years, COVID-19 has impacted every decision in our lives and the life of the nation. And based on the projections, more of the country will reach that point across the next couple of weeks. The pandemic has also led to fierce divisions within the Congress – where lawmakers clashed over mask mandates, lockdowns, school policies, and figures including Biden's coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci. The vast majority of federal workers will once again work in person. We have the tools we need. We're doing that here in the federal government. Let's stop looking at COVID-19 as a partisan dividing line and see it for what it is: A God-awful disease,' Biden said. Speaking as his poll ratings tanked just months ahead of the November midtermns, Biden said: 'Last year COVID-19 kept us apart.