This week’s White House Report Card finds President Joe Biden nearing the end of a grueling two-week effort to reestablish his credentials on the world stage and make up ground against former President Donald Trump’s fundraising and polling advantages.
The two efforts merged at Joint Base Andrews early Saturday when Air Force One touched down from Italy, where Biden participated in the G7 economic summit, met with Pope Francis, and joined in a conference for Ukraine aid. His jet landed at 2:41 a.m., refueled, and took off an hour later for Los Angeles, where Biden will host a celebrity-packed fundraiser on Saturday.
The trip followed another that ended at the beginning of the week when the president returned from D-Day celebrations in France. Once home, he saw his son Hunter convicted of three gun felonies.
There were a few positives for his week. The U.S. Supreme Court okayed the continued use of an abortion pill, and inflation plateaued. However, polls continued to show that he was falling behind Trump in the 2024 presidential race. Even the University of Virginia political team led by Larry Sabato, a Biden fan and Trump critic, conceded that key battleground states are shifting to Trump.
Conservative grader Jed Babbin graded the week an “F” and highlighted the continued immigration crisis that led to the arrest of alleged terrorists who crossed the border. Democratic pollster John Zogby graded Biden’s week a “B-plus” and played up the good economic news.
Jed Babbin
Grade: F
Another week of major league snickers for those of us observing the Biden crew. President Joe Biden supposedly is buying $104 million in Chinese solar panels for U.S. government buildings, the Russians are dragging their coats along our coast and lying about former President Donald Trump were this week’s highlights.
The $104 million gift to China for solar panels is purportedly undermined by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin promising to not use Chinese panels for the roof of the Pentagon. Why is any money being wasted on this nonsense?
The Russians are using the week for naval drills, including subs and frigates in the Caribbean Sea, very close to U.S. shores. They’re doing that as a counter to Biden’s letting Ukraine use U.S.-made weapons to strike inside Russia and to show they’re not afraid of whatever we’ll do. The ships are reportedly equipped with hypersonic missiles and, possibly, nuclear weapons. The media is suspiciously quiet about it all.
The biggest story is that eight Tajikistani men — all illegal aliens — were arrested for allegedly plotting terrorist acts in the U.S. There are about two million “gotaways,” those illegals who have evaded Border Patrol and other police entirely — who have escaped into the U.S. How many more are plotting terrorist acts against us? Nobody knows, least of all, the FBI and Homeland Security.
And then there’s Biden, repeating the often-told lie about Trump refusing to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France and calling the soldiers buried there “losers.” It never happened, according to several Trump staff who were present at the time. He never called the soldiers “losers,” and the visit was canceled due to weather conditions. But Biden keeps repeating the lie, like so many other lies he seems wedded to.
The funniest incident came when Secretary of State Antony Blinken finally figured out that it is Hamas — not Israel — that is the main obstacle to peace in the Gaza Strip. Well, duh.
And at the G7 economic summit in southern Italy this week, Biden signed a deal with Ukraine that he believes obligates us to aid it for 10 years. Nonsense. Like the awful Obama nuke deal with Iran, it’s just an agreement that any succeeding president can vacate. Not only that, every aid package has to be passed by Congress. Just more stuff and nonsense from Old Joe.
John Zogby
Grade: B+
A big focus of the week was the conviction of President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, on three felony charges related to an illegal gun purchase. The event was a first in presidential history.
It was also the first time that a president (or even a former one) accepted the jury’s verdict. Biden responded by proclaiming his love for Hunter, and promised that there would be no pardon or commutation. Warning to those who are gleeful: this can backfire as many Americans who persevere through personal tragedies may just rally around Biden again.
This was otherwise a good week for him as the rate of inflation actually declined slightly, wholesale prices dipped, and new FBI statistics showed historic declines in violent crimes, with murders showing the biggest drop.
Inflation and crime are the two top issues in John Zogby Strategies’ polls (as in most other polls) and, as my mom would say, this new data is “better than a kick in the pants” for the president.
The president got to act on the world stage in both Paris and Italy, which never hurts.
Meanwhile, back in Washington, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of continued access to the so-called abortion pill, a victory for liberals, moderates, and conservatives (especially those with teen daughters). By the way, Hunter Biden is not running for president.
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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 X @jedbabbin.
John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Survey and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His podcast with son and managing partner and pollster Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Their firm polls for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Follow him on X @ZogbyStrategies.
