TIPP: 22 charts show Biden is an albatross for Democrats in the 2022 midterms

By TIPP EDITORIAL BOARD, TIPP Insights

The midterm election on Tuesday is a referendum on President Biden’s policies.

In an interview with MSNBC in late October, he bragged, “I have “more substantive experience” on foreign and domestic policy “than any President ever.”

Even the administration-friendly New York Times tweeted on Friday, “As the midterm elections near, President Biden has increasingly made exaggerations or misstatements about his influence on the U.S. economy and his policy record.”

We present his report card to show that the President is an albatross around the Democratic Party’s neck.

Bidenomics

Bidenomics is a failure. The President’s fiscal profligacy is a major factor behind inflation. Since Biden took office, prices have increased by 12.8%.

Since June, most Americans have stated that the economy is in a recession.

In October, 61% thought the economy was in a recession. Only one-quarter of people believed the economy was improving.

The stock market is in the bear market territory, having fallen over 20% from its recent peak. The S&P 500 index peaked in December 2021 and since then has been declining. It was 3,770.55 on Friday’s close, below the 3,816.22 at its opening on the day of Biden’s inauguration.

Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the American economy. Economic optimism has steadily eroded over the past months. The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index has fallen since Biden took office, from 51.9 in February 2021 to 41.2 in October 2022. All three index components are below 50, i.e., in the pessimistic zone.

As a result of inflation, Americans feel increased financial stress. In October, the stress level was nearly the same as just after the pandemic.

Americans give Biden lousy grades for the handling of the economy. 65% of Republicans give him a straight “F.” Most independents give him failing grades. Unsurprisingly, only Democrats give him good grades.

Biden has distinguished himself for coming up with spending programs likely to worsen inflation. Recently in a bid to please a segment of voters, Biden came up with a student loan forgiveness program that will cost $400 billion. Two-thirds (65%) think it is a move driven by midterm election politics.

Biden’s Energy Policy

A case can be advanced that President Biden’s energy policy is the root cause of the country’s problems. Under President Biden’s leadership, the United States went from energy independence to energy dependence. Biden is yet to explain the wisdom of not drilling in the United States while begging dictators worldwide for oil and gas.

Which is the worse of the two – importing oil from regimes such as Russia, Venezuela, and Iran or drilling more oil in the United States and becoming self-sufficient?

Intriguingly, the President would prefer the former over the latter.

When Biden took office, the price of gasoline was $2.38. It peaked at $4.93 in June and costs $3.82 now.

Most Americans (63%) blame President Biden for the increase in gasoline prices.

President Biden jeopardizes U.S. national security by using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) as his piggy bank to fight inflation. When Biden took office, the SPR had 638 million barrels; now, it has only 400 million barrels, down 238 million or 37.3%. The U.S. consumes about 19.9 million barrels per day. The reserve, at its current level, can meet just 20 days of U.S. needs.

Americans are not kind when they grade Biden’s energy policy. Only 33% give him good grades. Almost one-half (48%) fail him.

Biden’s Foreign Policy

Intriguingly, President Biden’s actions alienate our allies, strengthen our enemies, and weaken our national security.

Despite four decades of experience in foreign affairs, his foreign policy is a disaster. Biden suffers from the ‘speak-and-then-think’ syndrome. Gaffes are the hallmark of his foreign policy. On four separate occasions, he deviated from the strategic ambiguity about Taiwan with his off-the-cuff remarks that the White House had to clean up.

TIPP Standing In The World Index is a unique metric that measures Americans’ opinion on the country’s position as a world leader on the global stage. We have been tracking this metric since February 2001. At Biden’s inauguration, the index was an optimistic 54. In October, it was 41.4, a decline of 23%.

The Afghan withdrawal was an embarrassment for the United States. One in two Americans believes that it emboldened Putin to invade Ukraine.

Most Americans (54%) think that leaders of foreign countries feared messing with President Trump, while most (60%) believe that they don’t fear messing with President Biden.

The American people lack faith in President Biden’s foreign policy. Specifically, he fails in handling Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, with under 30% giving him good grades.

The West is fighting a proxy war with Russia that could have been avoided. Nearly six million people are displaced. Ukraine estimates that the cost of reconstruction will be around $750 billion.

Nearly one-half (47%) give President Biden failing grades on his handling of the Russian invasion. While most Democrats (57%) give Biden good grades, 53% of Republicans give him an “F.” Half of independents (50%) also fail Biden.

Biden’s Immigration Policy

Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection agency reported that it took almost 2.8 million enforcement actions in the fiscal year 2022, which ended September 30. That’s up from 1.9 million in 2021. In 2017, it was 0.5 million.

Americans see Biden as weak on immigration, with one-half giving him failing grades.

The Divider-In-Chief

Though fostering unity was a Biden goal at the inauguration, the nation is more polarized than ever. Sixty-nine percent think that the nation is divided. Only 28% believe it is united.

The TIPP Unity Index, a compact measure of the nation’s unity, has posted sub-50 (pessimism zone) readings since its inception in April 2021, a sign of division in the country. Republicans and independents are likely to feel the polarization more than Democrats.

The President is the divider-in-chief. He never misses an opportunity to take on “MAGA” Republicans. Even on Wednesday, addressing the nation from the Union Station, Biden warned about the threats MAGA Republicans posed to democracy and appealed to voters for their support in the midterms.

Biden’s Mental Health

In October, nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) expressed concern about President Biden’s mental health. The concerns aren’t stemming from partisanship. Most political groups, including Democrats, are concerned about the President’s mental health.

Recently, Diana Allocco, the former editor of Limbaugh letter in a column, succinctly summed up the Biden Presidency — Joe Biden, as candidate and as President, has already proved that for a Democrat president, doing the work is completely unnecessary. A reasonable person with a fair reading of the data presented in this article would agree with the assessment. On Tuesday, Americans should elect a Republican Congress to serve as a counterbalance to President Biden.

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