White House links bad Biden poll to pandemic

White House press secretary Jen psakiJen PsakiBiden intends to sign short-term bill raising Trump’s debt ceiling advising 4 former aides to ignore January 6 panel subpoenas: White House report calls compromise “step forward” debt ceiling PLUS Friday attributed a series of tough poll results to President BidenJoe BidenArkansas lawmakers introduce bill to ban companies from requiring vaccine status from workers Senate approves increase in short-term debt ceiling to the nation’s inability to fully overcome the coronavirus pandemic.

“I would say it’s a really tough time in our country,” said Psaki, when asked about the series of surveys showing Biden’s approval was waning, especially among independent voters.

“We are still fighting COVID, and a lot of people thought we would get there, including us,” she continued. “And because of the rise of the delta variant, because even though it was a vaccine approved under Republican administration, even though we now have full FDA approval, and even though it is widely available nationwide, we still have… 20 percent of the country who have decided not to get the vaccine.

“There is no doubt that it has an impact. And of course, as the president said, the responsibility ends with him,” Psaki said. “This is by far the biggest problem on the minds of the American people, and it impacts many problems.”

An average of RealClearPolitics polls puts Biden’s approval rating at 43%, down from 51% in early August.

Psaki believed that the lingering threat of the virus had had a ripple effect on the economy, labor market and supply chains, further weakening the outlook for Americans.

She said the White House is focused on the big picture of resuming life to something akin to normal before the pandemic, as opposed to each individual poll result.

A Quinnipiac University poll released this week found that 38% of respondents approve of Biden’s performance at work, while 53% disapprove. The poll found that 60% of independents disapproved of Biden’s performance.

The poll followed an Associated Press poll last week that placed Biden’s overall approval rating at 50%, down from 54% in August.

A Gallup poll released last week found that Biden’s approval rating among independents had fallen to 37%, slipping 24 points below his 61% approval rating at the start of his administration. The Gallup poll found that 43% of those polled approved of Biden’s professional performance.