Biden ‘Underwater’, Has Lost ‘Ice Cream Joe' Likeability, Claims Ex-Hillary Clinton Pollster
© REUTERS / KEVIN LAMARQUE / U.S. President Joe Biden announces proposed budget for fiscal year 2023 at the White House in Washington
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Joe Biden's approval rating has been below 50 percent since last August, sinking to the lowest levels of his presidency in March, against the backdrop of high inflation, soaring consumer prices for gasoline, food and housing costs, as well as geopolitical concerns over Russia's ongoing special operation to "demilitarise and de-Nazify" Ukraine.
President Joe Biden has dramatically lost “likeability” among the US population, which has resulted in his favourability plummeting in polls ahead of November's midterm elections, said former Hillary Clinton adviser and pollster Mark Penn.
As he appeared on "Americas Newsroom" on Friday alongside former Donald Trump adviser, Kellyanne Conway, he explained that the Democratic POTUS had “lost one of his key attributes,” as he had projected an image of a “kind of likeable Uncle Joe.”
“You know, ice cream Joe kind of friendly. And I think he's lost that. I think it's been replaced by a kind of sterner, angrier figure who can now generate numbers like this,” said the American entrepreneur, pollster and political strategist.
He went on to insist that the opinion that the president was “underwater” was shared by all pollsters.
“Inflation, crime, immigration, these are core issues handling foreign affairs. Look, I think the president took a big hit on the way he handled Afghanistan. Does he seem compassionate to people now? You look at the war crimes being committed, is he seen as the kind of president who can rally leadership around something like that?” queried Mark Penn, in a reference to Russia’s ongoing operation to demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine.
According to Penn, who co-founded the polling firm PSB Research and boasts a former client list including ex-President Bill Clinton, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Bill Gates, Joe Biden has so far failed to take opportunities that have presented themselves to remedy his plight in the polls.
“…Clear opportunities to change energy policy, to change immigration policy, to appoint a more moderate Supreme Court… He hasn't made those changes that would pivot his administration in a new direction. Time is running out for that,” warned the chief strategist and pollster in the Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential campaign.
29 March 2022, 18:29 GMT
Joe Biden's approval rating crashed last summer amid fallout from the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan and, subsequently, a surge in COVID-19 cases.
According to FiveThirtyEight's tracker, Biden remains underwater by roughly 12 percentage points.
A March-conducted poll by the Marist College showed that just 39 percent of respondents approved of Biden's job performance.
Furthermore, while Joe Biden initially received higher marks for his handling of the Ukraine crisis, a recent NPR /Ipsos poll found that most Americans don't like his response. A majority say they are wary of sparking a broader conflict.
"The American people are supportive of Ukraine, up to a point," said Chris Jackson, a senior vice president at Ipsos.
More than 6 in 10 Americans want the US to provide Ukraine with some support, while still trying to avoid a larger military standoff with Russia. Fewer than 2 in 10 say that America should give Ukraine everything it wants, albeit it risking a wider engagement in the conflict.
These numbers have been feeding Democrats’ fears regarding the outcome of the looming November mid-term elections, where they could lose their slim control of Congress.
