Prof. ST Hsieh
Director, US-China Energy Industry Forum
626-376-7460
July 16, 2023
Yes, “Everyone’s Mad at Joe Biden, at Home and Abroad.” But it is not entirely Joe’s fault. In fact, it is the US problem. It is the “election,” stupid!
Biden inherited a mess leftover by four-years of Trump in the White House. Frankly, Biden has “accomplished” quite a bit after he took over in 2021. Of course, Biden has his limitations, and the GOP leads the opposition shortchanges him every step of the way.
As a person, Biden is much more decent than Trump. So why not everyone is mad at Trump, at home and abroad? The answer is really simple: Biden should not run for re-election in 2024 and give any young democratic a chance to duel with Trump!
People are mad at Biden because his time has passed: Trump may crush him in 2024! A second term of Trump is a serious US problem, not only a Biden problem.
It is not too late for Biden’s exit and if he were to stay out of next year’s election now, people around the world would stop being mad at him. Further, the news media, the public opinion poll, and the US will be very kind toward Biden.
Democrats’ Profound Problem: Everyone’s Mad at Joe Biden, at Home and Abroad
Published 07/15/23 06:00 AM ET Updated 07/15/23 07:51 AM ET
Douglas Schoen
The Democratic Party generally — and President Biden specifically — have a profound problem: At home and abroad, seemingly everyone is mad at the American president, with severe consequences for American influence around the world.
Domestically, despite cooling inflation, just 30% of Americans say they agree with Democrats’ economic policy, while 42% prefer the Republicans’ approach. With the economy consistently ranking as the most important issue for voters, Americans’ pessimism — coupled with Biden’s consistently low approval ratings on the economy — figures to be a considerable problem as he seeks a second term.
Moreover, Hispanic voters — a critical Democratic constituency — are angry at the perceived leftward shift of today’s Democratic Party. Compared to 2018, the 2022 midterms saw a 10-point jump in Hispanic support for the GOP, according to exit polls and Edison research. In fact, the research shows that Hispanic support for Democrats in 2022 was the lowest it has been since the 1990s.
To that end, support for Biden among Hispanics has dropped more than among any other race or ethnicity, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis, and nearly two-thirds (64%) of Hispanic voters say that Biden has accomplished “little or nothing” as president.
Internationally, Biden’s campaign promises to restore American leadership as a more traditional statesman than his predecessor have fallen flat, as it seems almost every international constituency is upset with the American president.
While Biden has led a robust and determined Western response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including sending historic levels of military and humanitarian aid, Ukrainians are — rightfully — angry that Biden declared them “not ready” for NATO, despite arguably having done more for European security than any other country in blunting and eroding the Russian military.
Further, the White House has consistently slow-walked the delivery of weapons systems that Ukraine desperately needs, often refusing for months before ultimately relenting, wasting valuable time as Ukrainians valiantly fight for their survival.
Additionally, our Asian allies are angry that Biden has been weak in standing up to China’s growing militancy, and China itself is angry over restrictions on access to vital technology. Importantly, while the administration’s policy of preventing China’s technological rise is sound, sending high-level diplomats such as Secretary of State Tony Blinken or Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to our most formidable geopolitical adversary sends our allies in the region — especially Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Australia — the wrong message.
In the Middle East, Biden’s problems are perhaps more pronounced than in any other part of the globe. He has made Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu persona non grata and has interposed himself, however correctly, in domestic Israeli politics over their judicial reform legislation. That said, the administration’s criticism of the Israeli government and its proposed changes to the country’s legal system have far surpassed how allies should interact. Biden has publicly declared that Israel “cannot continue down this road,” and U.S. ambassador Tom Nides took it a step further: As if a parent speaking to their teenager, Nides said the U.S. must work to “stop Israel from going off the rails.”
It is perfectly normal for allies to disagree; however, the administration’s chastising of a sovereign democracy over an internal policy change has, in the words of Nides, gone off the rails.
While both Biden and Netanyahu continue to maintain that the U.S.-Israel relationship is strong, Biden’s ill-fated efforts to revive a nuclear deal with Iran is likely to solve none of the most immediate problems, but will surely infuriate Jerusalem and leave the U.S. with even less influence in the region.
Among America’s other Middle East allies, such as Saudi Arabia, Biden has continued where former President Obama left off, putting distance between Washington and key ally Saudi Arabia and harming regional security by alienating the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
China has capitalized on the significant decline in American influence in the Middle East. In March, the U.S. was forced to watch from the sidelines as China flexed its diplomatic muscles in brokering a landmark peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Beijing has also used America’s declining-to-nonexistent influence under Biden to expand its footprint in Latin America. Chinese listening posts in Cuba and recently announced plans of a Chinese troop presence just 90 miles off the American homeland are unmissable signs that international attitudes towards Biden have given leftist dominated Latin American nations the room to improve ties with China at the expense of our national security.
To be clear, it is unprecedented for an American president to have such limited influence in the Middle East or around the world, and Biden’s continued disengagement from the region will further diminish our alliances and influence in a critical part of the world. Continuing Obama’s ‘pivot to Asia’ may be rational, but a pivot is not the same as disengagement.
Of course, Biden’s unpopularity on the international stage may not be as big of an issue to the electorate as domestic policy, but it is something that increasingly is proving itself to be a risk factor for the Democratic Party and Joe Biden, who was thought to be ushering in a return of the U.S. to global leadership after the four years of isolationism under former President Trump.
Ultimately, unless the Democrats and Biden can articulate a clear philosophy of Biden’s view of the U.S. and the world, and fix their likability problem, they will further weaken an already weak reelection campaign.
Douglas E. Schoen is a lawyer, political analyst and consultant. He advised President Bill Clinton during his 1996 reelection campaign and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg during his 2020 presidential campaign, among other public figures. He is the author of numerous books, including “Power: The 50 Truths” (2023).