Omicron poses new threat to Joe Biden ratings, offers critics another openness

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The pandemic and its ramifications have been a constant backdrop for President Joe Biden and his actions in power.

And with the COVID-19 Omicron variant having now been discovered in five US states, this is expected to continue.

Biden’s approval in general collapsed after being elevated in a honeymoon period after the inauguration, while the perception of his handling of the pandemic has been mixed.

If the COVID-19 situation worsens, with subsequent impacts on the economic fortunes of Americans across the country, whether fully justified or not, the blame is likely to land at Biden’s doorstep.

“There is no doubt that an increase in COVID-19 cases, including those caused by the new Omicron variant, is bad news for Biden politically,” Thomas Gift, founding director of the Center, told Newsweek. on US Politics from University College London.

“Rightly or wrongly, higher infection rates will attract negative media coverage and negate the image of the White House.”

Right now, Biden said “the variant is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic.”

“We have the best vaccine in the world, the best drugs, the best scientists. And we are learning more every day,” he said in a speech at the White House on November 29.

Should a scenario arise in which the variant significantly increases cases and impact, Biden could find himself somewhat in a catch-22 situation – with any prospect of lockdowns, which he has ruled out for now, or d ‘other mandates likely to irritate the public – but a situation that also escalates something that would cause a backlash for him.

Biden has previously been criticized for the travel bans put in place for a number of African countries. On December 2, the White House announced a series of measures to “protect Americans from the Delta and Omicron variants as we fight COVID-19 this winter.” These were largely focused on expanding vaccinations, with a push for the rollout of boosters and testing. Speaking that day, Biden expanded, increasing the booster’s deployment and tightening travel rules.

“All of Biden’s efforts to tighten the restrictions, even through a suspicion of a European lockdown, will invariably generate negative reactions,” Gift said.

“After several COVID winters, patience is running out with a lot of Americans. This is true on the right, where opposition to strict COVID regulations has always been strong. But more and more, this is also true in left, where there is a strong pull to get “back to normal” life now that vaccines are widely available.

“For these reasons, Biden is likely to avoid any new tenure and more importantly to double down on his mantra of ‘vaccines, vaccines, vaccines’ – and increasingly ‘reminders, reminders, reminders’.”

President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on December 1, 2021 in Washington, DC His approval rating has dropped and potential problems with the new COVID variant could see him collapse further. Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images

Justin Buchler, associate professor in the political science department at Case Western Reserve University, agreed that Biden’s approval could be linked to issues such as COVID trends.

However, Buchler added that whatever he does, Biden is likely to face criticism from those at different ends of the political spectrum.

“Biden will face Republican criticism no matter what he does, so he cannot base his decisions on an attempt to anticipate Republican criticism, and the left flank of the Democratic Party will try to push him further to the left, no matter what.” it does, so the same principle applies, ”Buchler told Newsweek.

“However, his approval rating will be more closely tied to economic trends, such as inflation at this point, COVID trends, and other factors that are only sometimes within presidential influence. The bigger question is, How much presidential approval affects will have a considerable influence on the 2022 midterm elections and the 2024 elections, but most political science research has shown relatively minimal effects of presidential approval on the ability of the president to adopt and implement his program.

“So while Biden should be alert to economics, COVID, and other trends, trying to deal with criticism from the GOP or the Democratic Party’s left flank would likely pay no dividends.”

While some moves may see Biden coming under criticism, Richard Johnson, senior lecturer in US politics and politics at Queen Mary University in London, told Newsweek that travel restrictions for non-citizen visitors to United States could probably be one that was not. hurt him politically, but allowed him to show a certain level of action.

“I think Biden will try to resist imposing too many new restrictions in response to the new variant, instead of pushing the vaccination hard,” Johnson said by email.

“However, I could see him imposing restrictions on a politically cost-free group: non-citizen visitors to the United States. While travel bans have some impact on American businesses, they are a weak political constituency for people to see. obvious reasons. So if Biden wanted to be seen as doing ‘something’ but not disturbing an already exhausted American audience, then a ban on (some) international visitors would be a consideration. “

According to the FiveThirtyEight tracker, Biden’s approval rating is underwater with his 42.6% approval and 51.6% disapproval, as of December 3. Its numbers have remained around this range in recent weeks.

If the unrest in the United States were to be exacerbated by the new strain of COVID in the months to come, it will prove to be a tougher task than it has ever been to bring it back to the levels of its first presidency. .

Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment.

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