I believe we are seeing a turnaround in President Joe Biden’s popularity. Because of recent legislative victories, 83 percent of Democrats now approve of the job Biden is doing. That’s an 11-point increase since last month. As expected, 92 percent of Republicans disapprove as do 55 percent of independents.
The American public historically gives presidents low approval ratings. According to the Roper Center at Cornell University, Harry S. Truman polled at 22 percent in 1952. In 1974, Richard Nixon had a 23 percent rating. Jimmy Carter polled at 28 percent five years later, and in January 2021, Trump had a 29 percent approval rating. George H.W. Bush polled the same as Trump in 1992. So Biden’s current rating of 33 percent is quite respectable.
Biden’s rising approval rating reinforces my belief that, polls notwithstanding, the Democrats will retain control of the White House and the Congress in coming elections. The principal reason for my expectation is not that the Democrats have performed particularly well but that the Republicans have disgraced themselves notoriously thanks to the leadership of Donald Trump. The American public, while still concerned about monetary issues such as inflation, is expressing greater alarm at the threat to democracy itself, a very real danger inherent in current Republican campaigns led by pro-Trump candidates. Americans are showing that they understand that unruly freedom is preferable to orderly autocracy.
The outcome of the November 2022 election will show how accurate my predictions are. To the degree that my understanding of the American outlook is correct, Trump’s fascists will be defeated, and the sloppy Democrats will win.
Tom Glenn, Writer 