I will be the first to admit that President Biden took over the office in one of the worst times possible. He started in a hole, and unfortunately, he remains in that hole. It feels as if it is destined that anyone else placed into his position would also share terrible approval ratings come midterms.

We all must understand that everything in the world that is happening is not the president’s fault. Sometimes you’re just given a bad hand and you try to make the best with what you have. This is the situation Biden was left with and with overwhelming disapproval and pressures from both sides, it makes genuine sense as to why he is struggling to navigate.

Furthermore, I would like to examine three of the most aching issues we have so far that have led to the approval ratings being shit: the economy, the pandemic, and the Ukrainian - Russian war.

1. However you feel about Trump, we can all say that he and his administration enjoyed historic economic gains. These were not the workings of Trump, but he did inherit a thriving economy. Either way, these gains cannot be sustainable forever and as fast as the economy shoots up, it must come down.

   Anybody, even if Trump was in office right now, would see inflation destroying the economy. Historically, historic gains lead to historic inflation and we naturally go through inflation cycles every 10 or so years. So that begs the question: How is Biden to deal with this issue and how has the Biden administration handled the situation thus far?

   Biden has sent ut money to everybody in an attempt to stimulate the economy and his appointed Fed is raising interest rates in an attempt to slow/ease inflation. They are being careful as well to not crumble the economy or what is left of it.

2. Then there was Covid, or is Covid. Unforeseen and to be honest, unstoppable. This is another situation of “could have happened no matter who is in office.” So then again, we must look to how the Biden administration has handled it.

   They (the Biden administration) have distributed testing and vaccines throughout the nation at record volumes and record speeds. However, viruses naturally mutate and now have developed multiple forms of the Covid virus. This will be an ongoing issue that we will just have to deal with and fight against for the next decade or so.

3. Lastly, there is the war in Ukraine after Russia pushed for an invasion. Not only is the Biden administration working to deal with this, but the entire world is on watch. Biden CAN NOT fight back with troops - that is out of the question since nobody, even Biden, wants to join/start World War 3.

   So, what is it that the EU, NATO, and the United States have not done?

   • Give weapons to Ukrain - Yes

   • Sanction Russia and it presumptive allies - Yes

Why then has the Biden administration seen itself in a rut with such low approval ratings? Is it because the Biden administration hasn’t publically touted their own efforts or achievements? Is it because after all of this, the public still feels it’ll never be enough or do they see it as Biden hasn’t done enough?

Where is the disconnect?

I believe fundamentally, approval ratings are flawed. Presidents really never have any direct control over issues like inflation, pandemics, and foreign wars anyway. They can make stupid speeches and pass executive orders, but when courts are stacked in odds, the executive orders have no effectiveness.

Congress is broken as well, specifically within the Senate. Due to this, Biden is basically a punching bag with limited power. It also doesn’t seem to help that 2 of the 50 Democratic Senators are basically Republicans and oppose every single thing Biden does or tries to do. This includes things from election reform to economic stimulus to gun control to environmental regulations

There has NEVER been a worse time to be a Democratic president for government structural reasons. This may end up resulting in Trump getting elected again despite his inaction against Covid and literally attempting a coup. All outside of his other faults and failures…