Psaki Defends Biden's Low Approval Ratings by Blaming COVID-19, Unvaccinated Americans
© REUTERS / KEVIN LAMARQUE
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Biden's approval ratings sunk dramatically in key battleground states this summer, just as six months of his presidency had passed and the time had come to highlight the first achievements of the administration.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki apparently felt uncomfortable when addressing US President Joe Biden's very low approval ratings on Friday.
During a daily briefing, the press secretary responded to a reporter who noted that while the White House might say that polls "don't mean anything," nevertheless asked how the administration explained to themselves the poor polling figures for Biden and what they were going to do.
Moreover, the reporter asked whether the White House alleged that such "terrible" polls resulted from Biden "doing something wrong," a poor communication strategy, or "doing unpopular things that have to be done."
According to Psaki, Americans "who have decided not to get vaccinated" bear at least some of the burden.
"I would say that this is a really tough time in our country," Psaki responded. "We’re still battling COVID-19, and a lot of people thought we’d be through it, including us."
REPORTER: "What do you make of these really terrible polls?"@PressSec: "This is a really tough time in our country...we still have 20% of the country who've decided not to get vaccinated." pic.twitter.com/1YJCx39J8g
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 8, 2021
"And because of the rise of the Delta variant, because of the fact that, even though it was a vaccine that was approved under a Republican administration, even though we now have full FDA approval, and even though it’s widely available across the country, we still have […] 20% of the country who've decided not to get vaccinated," she continued.
Psaki stressed that there is "no question that’s having an impact."
"And of course, as the president has said, the buck stops with him," she concluded, referring to the fact that Biden admitted his ultimate responsibility for the administration's policies.
According to Wednesday's poll by Quinnipiac University, Biden's job approval rating has slipped to 38%. This is down from a high of over 50% in mid-February and a low of 42% three weeks ago. The survey revealed that it is only Democratic supporters who approve of Biden's policies.
The poll revealed that more than half of Americans, 55%, said that they think the Biden administration is incompetent in running the government. 39% of respondents approve of Biden’s handling of the US economy and only 37% approve of the administration’s tax policy in particular.
With respect to foreign policy, the poll showed that 34% of Americans approve of Biden’s work, with 23% approving of his handling of the situation at the Mexican border in particular.
With respect to foreign policy, the poll showed that 34% of Americans approve of Biden’s work, with 23% approving of his handling of the situation at the Mexican border in particular.
In addition to the abovementioned polls, September's dismal jobs data showed that only 194,000 jobs were added to the economy, well below the 500,000 forecasts by economists.
In his turn, Biden responded to the polls on Friday, defending his economic record in particular as "progress," noting that the administration had added almost "five million jobs" to the economy in eight months.
