After the release of yet another ABC/WaPo poll showing President Joe Biden’s approval ratings sinking to an all time low of thirty-seven percent, ABC’s This Week was forced to talk about them once again.
This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos, while previewing Biden’s upcoming State of the Union address, turned to chief Washington correspondent Jon Karl to ask how Biden should handle the balancing act between striking an optimistic tone and being realistic about the mounting troubles facing the country: “Jon, it's always tricky for presidents in challenging times to get that balance right between optimism and recognizing the reality that most Americans are facing.”
“Let's face it, George, the State of the Union address is the biggest audience that he will face. But State of the Union addresses rarely move the needle much. And Joe Biden needs to change the trajectory here” Karl urged.
Karl continued his analysis of how bad Biden’s standing is among Americans:
His approval ratings are at the lowest point of his presidency. Truly grim. If you look at his approval rating, it's virtually indistinguishable from where Donald Trump was at the various low points of his presidency. And more concerning for Joe Biden and Democrats generally, is if you look at our latest poll out today, the percentage of voters saying that they will vote for Republicans in the midterm elections is at the highest level that we have seen since 2010 and you know what happened in 2010.
For those who were watching at home who didn’t remember what happened in the 2010 Midterm Elections, Karl reminded voters: “2010 is when Republicans won sixty-three seats and swept control of the house in the Tea Party wave. So Biden needs to change the trajectory. He needs to acknowledge the challenges and present some kind of a vision that shows he has a plausible plan for dealing with the challenges facing the country.”
As if that wasn’t enough bad news for ABC viewers, they weren’t done. Stephanopoulos then turned to congressional correspondent Rachel Scott about the mass exodus of Democrats from Congress this year:
Rachel, when the President enters that chamber on Tuesday night he'll be facing a Democratic Party which is feeling a bit besieged. Right now you’re seeing more than 30 retirements in the House. People are saying they’re not going to run again. Republicans, as Sarah said, do feel they have the winds at their back.
“Oh definitely. George,” Scott exclaimed. “A Thirty-year high when it comes to Democratic retirements, especially in the House. The number right now is at forty-one. And so Democrats here they're looking at the challenges.”
You know Democrats are really headed for a landslide defeat when even the leftist media is panicking in February about an election in November!
To read the relevant transcript of this segment click "expand":
ABC’s This Week
2/27/2022
9:45:40 a.m. EasternGEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Jon, it's always tricky for presidents in challenging times to get that balance right between optimism and recognizing the reality that most Americans are facing.
JON KARL: And let's face it, George, State of the Union address is the biggest audience that he will face. But State of the Union addresses rarely move the needle much. And Joe Biden needs to change the trajectory here. His approval ratings are at the lowest point of his presidency. Truly grim. If you look at his approval rating, it's virtually indistinguishable from where Donald Trump was at the various low points of his presidency. And more concerning for Joe Biden and Democrats generally, is if you look at our latest poll out today, the percentage of voters saying that they will vote for Republicans in the midterm elections is at the highest level that we have seen since 2010 and you know what happened in 2010. 2010 is when Republicans won sixty-three seats and swept control of the house in the Tea Party wave. So Biden needs to change the trajectory. He needs to acknowledge the challenges and present some kind of a vision that shows he has a plausible plan for dealing with the challenges facing the country.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And Rachel, when the President enters that chamber on Tuesday night he'll be facing a Democratic Party which is feeling a bit besieged. Right now you’re seeing more than 30 retirements in the House. People are saying they’re not going to run again. Republicans, as Sarah said, do feel they have the winds at their back.
RACHEL SCOTT: Oh definitely. George! A thirty-year high when it comes to Democratic retirements, especially in the house. The number right now is at forty-one. And so Democrats here they're looking at the challenges. They're hearing from voters in their district, especially some of these vulnerable Democrats. Abigail Spanberger in Virginia, hearing about concerns about inflation. Just look at our latest poll. Six out of ten Americans are saying they're feeling some type of hardship from inflation. This is also a party right now that's trying to figure out the messaging. They're looking at some of the domestic agenda that has been stalled. There has been a lot of private conversations happening behind the scenes with Democrats focusing on what they have gotten done rather than what they have not. And trying to change the gears ahead of this critical midterm election when they’re trying to keep the House and the Senate.
