As if things couldn’t get worse for President Joe Biden amid the Afghanistan debacle, the findings of a new poll reveal some unwelcome news for the Commander-in-Chief. As the White House prepares to unveil a new plan for curbing the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant, Americans’ faith in its ability to address the problem is waning.
Gallup Bears Bad News
A recent Gallup poll showed that President Biden has lost the American public’s confidence that he can address the health issue effectively. The survey found that 42% believe the president has not clearly articulated a plan to combat the spread of the virus. However, about 40% agree that he has communicated his administration’s COVID-19 strategy.
According to Gallup:
“This is the first time Americans have not been more positive than negative about his communication, as a presidential candidate or president-elect in 2020 or as president this year. This change is consistent with the decline in his overall job approval rating in July and August that has occurred as new coronavirus infections have spiked in the U.S.”
Respondents indicated they think the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) also has not effectively conveyed “a clear plan of action” to address the coronavirus issue. The report noted:
“More Americans now disagree (41%) than agree (32%) that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has communicated a clear plan of action in response to the COVID-19 situation. This is the first Gallup reading since the CDC in late July changed its guidance on the need for face masks for unvaccinated people in areas of high coronavirus transmission.”
Interestingly enough, governors fared better than the president and the CDC in this particular survey. About 41% agree that their governors have communicated clear plans to deal with COVID-19, while 35% disagree. In addition, the report noted that “Americans have been more likely to positively than negatively evaluate their governor’s communication” since the polling company first asked this question in June of last year.
White House Poised to Lay Out Plan
The Biden administration seems to have anticipated this problem. On Sept. 7, a White House official stated it would unveil a “six-pronged strategy aimed at fighting the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus Delta variant and increasing U.S. COVID-19 vaccinations,” according to Reuters.
“On Thursday [Sept. 9] the president will speak to the American people about his robust plan to stop the spread of the delta variant and boost vaccinations. As the president has said since day 1, his administration will pull every lever to get the pandemic under control,” the official said, adding that the strategy is designed to work “across the public and private sectors.”
Joe Biden
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Biden’s approval ratings have been underwater since the situation in Afghanistan worsened. Up to that point, however, his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic rated fairly positively. There can be no doubt that the administration sees this as yet another issue that could damage Democrats politically, which could explain why they are circling the wagons to deal with the Delta variant.
So far, about 650,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. At this point, it is impossible to blame the continuing deaths on former President Donald Trump. However, the Democrats and their close friends and allies in the activist media have taken to blaming conservative Americans who are leery about taking the jab even though black Americans – who vote overwhelmingly for Democrats – also have refused the vax in substantial numbers. When Biden first took office, it seemed he would get the COVID situation under control. However, the Delta variant has complicated his efforts.
Now that the Democrats own this mess, it is vital for them to aggressively pursue solutions. It is not hard to imagine that their remedies would involve more government programs and mask and vaccine directives. It can be expected that Biden will continue urging local governments to institute various forms of mask and vaccine mandates and other measures designed to coerce more Americans to take the injection. If these developments are any indication, the debate over mandatory requirements will become even more contentious.
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