White House's latest challenge is sour public mood
By Alex Gangitano and Brett Samuels - 02/18/22 06:00 AM EST
A Biden White House struggling to find any sort of political momentum is facing a stern challenge in trying to shift the sour mood of a public fatigued by the two-year pandemic, annoyed with rising prices and uncertain over conflicts abroad.
President Biden’s approval ratings have steadily dropped since August and Democrats are headed toward a November where it seems inevitable that they will lose their congressional majorities.
Public frustration over inflation and the pandemic has contributed to a dour public mood that is clearly hurting Democrats and Biden, and time may be running out for the party to turn the tide before the midterms.
“You have a whole cross section of folks who found Trump unacceptable as president, just from a personality and ethics standpoint, but those people have turned on Biden because of day-to-day quality of life issues like filling up the grocery cart, being able to walk down the street, having my kids in school learning,” said Stewart Verdery, a former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush.
Only 39 of Americans in a recent Politico-Morning Consult poll approved of the way Biden has handled the COVID-19 pandemic, while 41 percent gave him a poor rating.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/594842-white-houses-latest-challenge-is-sour-public-mood