In the name of avoiding a direct confrontation, US President Joe Biden resists taking on Russia in Ukraine, but the decision fuels a political war in the United States — and jeopardizing the Democratic majority in the congressional elections in November. In the most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll at the end of March, Biden’s approval rating dropped to 40%, the lowest level in his administration. Voters’ main complaints are high inflation and his stance on foreign policy, with the withdrawal from Afghanistan and passivity in Ukraine.
The Biden administration, in the opinion of political scientist Virginia Sapiro of Boston University, has been eroded by the resurgence of problems with the pandemic and with a threat of war of great proportions. “Voters expect quicker responses from Biden, who inherited gigantic problems from before and created new difficulties by failing to fulfill economic promises and some empty threats on the issue of war,” the researcher told DINHEIRO.
The approval of the American president, at the beginning of the second year of administration, is already equivalent to that of his predecessor, Donald Trump, comparing both at the same time of the term. But Trump was still below. At its lowest, in December 2017, Trump’s approval rating reached just 33%. Political scientist Bill Galston of The Brookings Institution said, “Biden will have to change the way he has run the country so far, because dissatisfaction is growing even among his party peers.”
The friendly fire Biden faces among voters and congressmen jeopardizes the future of American politics under the current administration. Democrats have minimal majorities in the House and Senate. Losing either one could cripple Biden’s legislative agenda. In the House, Democrats have 222 of the 435 representatives. In the Senate, of the 100 seats, 52 are Democrats. For the economist and coordinator of International Relations at Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC), Carlos Braga, Biden’s unpopularity inside and outside the political sphere will grow while the economic environment is uncertain. “The average American voter likes cheap gas and war. Biden has been underrated on both counts,” he said. “If avoiding armed conflict and controlling inflation was the goal, Biden is failing.”
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