Staff Reports
President Joe Biden had another tough week, as noted in this week’s White House Report Card. The president is facing a potential government shutdown, an ongoing auto workers strike, and the opening of impeachment proceedings in the House. According to our graders, it was a winless week for Biden.
Conservative analyst Jed Babbin gave Biden a grade of D-. He criticized the president for repeating old and false stories, such as claiming to know Chinese President Xi Jinping better than any other leader because he had flown 17,000 miles with him. Babbin also pointed out Biden’s visit to a United Auto Worker’s picket line in Michigan, where he seemed to support a 40% raise for the UAW without fully understanding the question. Babbin questioned whether autoworkers would believe Biden is on their side considering the impact of inflation on their take-home pay.
Babbin also expressed his disapproval of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s global music diplomacy initiative, which started with Blinken singing and playing the guitar. He criticized this as an example of the dumbing down of U.S. diplomacy and pointed out troubling developments such as the blocking of Saudi peace terms, China and Russia growing closer, and Iran declaring U.S. defeat at the United Nations. Overall, Babbin’s grade for Biden’s week was a D-.
Democratic pollster John Zogby gave Biden a grade of C for the week. While acknowledging that there is currently no tangible evidence of presidential wrongdoing, Zogby noted that the House has begun proceedings to determine if Biden should be investigated for impeachment, largely due to the actions of his son, Hunter. Zogby pointed out that the political landscape has changed, with vengeance seemingly ruling over law and facts. However, he predicted that there would likely be no House impeachment and no Senate conviction.
Zogby also shared a joke about fringe House members holding Speaker Kevin McCarthy hostage, making excessive demands for budget cuts and threatening a vote on his ouster. The punchline of the joke paints a negative picture for the GOP, as a government shutdown would ensue, causing government employees to miss paychecks and agencies to shut down. Zogby suggested that this scenario could make the president look better.
In conclusion, Biden had a challenging week, with concerns about a potential government shutdown, ongoing impeachment proceedings, and questionable actions by his administration. The White House Report Card suggests it was a winless week for the president.
