White House Report Card: Helpless, unpopular Joe
Paul Bedard - 3h ago
This week’s White House Report Card finds President Joe Biden in a familiar place with inflation still raging, his staff cleaning up mistakes and another tragic mass shooting.
And as in past weeks, there was little in Biden’s tool kit for him to tap as fixes.
This weekend the president planned to travel to Texas to address the shooting in Uvalde and he is expected to roll out Democratic Party talking points on gun control that critics claim would not have stopped the killings.
His administration is expected to engage with congressional negotiators working on the edges of the gun debate in their focus on “red flag” rules to keep weapons away from those with mental issues and an expanded gun purchase background check.
Conservative grader Jed Babbin, giving the week an “F,” noted in his analysis that Biden’s focus on an AR-15 ban would be pointless considering the millions of them already sold -- and used safely.
Democratic pollster John Zogby agreed that the week was heavy and bad, and instead of grading suggested that we all “rethink and regroup.” In his weekly podcast with son, partner, and historian Jeremy, the national debate over gun control is played out.
Polling wise, Biden’s approval rating continued to drop, hitting just 36% in an Ipsos survey. And his approval rating has fallen below every president of the modern era at this stage of their term.
Jed Babbin
Grade F
Even before the tragic murder of 19 children and two adults in a school in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday, President Joe Biden was having a bad week.
His comments that the United States would defend Taiwan with military force (his third) was, like the preceding two, quickly denied by his cabinet and White House staff. His comment that the historically high gasoline prices Americans are paying for Memorial Day travel was part of the necessary “incredible transition" to green energy was not denied by the White House. It appears that Biden wants to force expensive, unreliable green energy on us whether we like it or not.
And then came the Texas tragedy. Biden’s reactions were ignorant and arrogant. On Thursday, he said, “What in God’s name do you need an assault weapon for except to kill someone?” There are more than 20 million AR-15 style rifles in civilian hands in the U.S. If all of these people were bent on murder, the United States would be a combat zone like Syria or Somalia (where Biden is sending U.S. troops for no good reason).
Biden’s other comments were just as dumb. He tweeted that he wants Congress to pass another “assault weapons” ban, to stop the sales of high-capacity magazines and to impose universal background checks. None of those things -- zip, zilch, zero -- would have stopped the Uvalde killer from doing his evil work.
There’s a reason that the liberals’ constant demands for gun control fail: people understand that it’s a substitute for serious action.
John Zogby
No Grade
We all had a terrible week. Rest in peace, little ones and heroic teachers. No grade, just time to rethink and regroup.
Jed Babbin is a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him on Twitter @jedbabbin
John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Survey and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His weekly podcast with son and partner Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Follow him on Twitter @ZogbyStrategies
Washington Examiner Videos
Paul Bedard - 3h ago
This week’s White House Report Card finds President Joe Biden in a familiar place with inflation still raging, his staff cleaning up mistakes and another tragic mass shooting.
And as in past weeks, there was little in Biden’s tool kit for him to tap as fixes.
This weekend the president planned to travel to Texas to address the shooting in Uvalde and he is expected to roll out Democratic Party talking points on gun control that critics claim would not have stopped the killings.
His administration is expected to engage with congressional negotiators working on the edges of the gun debate in their focus on “red flag” rules to keep weapons away from those with mental issues and an expanded gun purchase background check.
Conservative grader Jed Babbin, giving the week an “F,” noted in his analysis that Biden’s focus on an AR-15 ban would be pointless considering the millions of them already sold -- and used safely.
Democratic pollster John Zogby agreed that the week was heavy and bad, and instead of grading suggested that we all “rethink and regroup.” In his weekly podcast with son, partner, and historian Jeremy, the national debate over gun control is played out.
Polling wise, Biden’s approval rating continued to drop, hitting just 36% in an Ipsos survey. And his approval rating has fallen below every president of the modern era at this stage of their term.
Jed Babbin
Grade F
Even before the tragic murder of 19 children and two adults in a school in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday, President Joe Biden was having a bad week.
His comments that the United States would defend Taiwan with military force (his third) was, like the preceding two, quickly denied by his cabinet and White House staff. His comment that the historically high gasoline prices Americans are paying for Memorial Day travel was part of the necessary “incredible transition" to green energy was not denied by the White House. It appears that Biden wants to force expensive, unreliable green energy on us whether we like it or not.
And then came the Texas tragedy. Biden’s reactions were ignorant and arrogant. On Thursday, he said, “What in God’s name do you need an assault weapon for except to kill someone?” There are more than 20 million AR-15 style rifles in civilian hands in the U.S. If all of these people were bent on murder, the United States would be a combat zone like Syria or Somalia (where Biden is sending U.S. troops for no good reason).
Biden’s other comments were just as dumb. He tweeted that he wants Congress to pass another “assault weapons” ban, to stop the sales of high-capacity magazines and to impose universal background checks. None of those things -- zip, zilch, zero -- would have stopped the Uvalde killer from doing his evil work.
There’s a reason that the liberals’ constant demands for gun control fail: people understand that it’s a substitute for serious action.
John Zogby
No Grade
We all had a terrible week. Rest in peace, little ones and heroic teachers. No grade, just time to rethink and regroup.
Jed Babbin is a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him on Twitter @jedbabbin
John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Survey and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His weekly podcast with son and partner Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Follow him on Twitter @ZogbyStrategies
Washington Examiner Videos
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