Although most like @POTUS Biden personally, words like “frustrated” and “disappointed” top people’s descriptions of things, along with the feeling that he’s “distracted” and not focusing on what they care about.
Perceived focus matters: @POTUS gets much more overall disapproval from people who don’t think he’s focused enough on inflation or the economy. That’s true even if you control for partisanship.
His rating for handling the economy today is a mere 38%, and about half who think it’s bad blame @POTUS’s policies. Even more blame larger forces like inflation and supply chain issues.
WHAT COULD TURN THINGS AROUND FOR @POTUS? Inflation — not legislation.
Detractors say they’d think better of Biden if he manages to get inflation down – and say so at more than twice the rate than if the Build Back Better bill passes- or voting rights, for that matter.
A year ago, a slim majority expected the pandemic to get better with @POTUS Biden in office. But with Omicron taking its toll, just 1/3rd think the effort to contain it is going well, with a similar number saying his policies are helping make it better.
COVID APPROVAL SLIDES: @POTUS job rating on handling COVID at lowest point in his presidency, and when asked specifically why they don’t think he’s handling it well, 2/3rds cite information about the outbreak being confusing. Few attribute it to a lack of vaccinations.
WHY IS THE ECONOMY IN BAD SHAPE? Those who think so blame inflation, supply chain issues, and the coronavirus outbreak along with @POTUS’s policies.
ASSESSING BIDEN APPROVAL (pt 1): 6 in 10 voters under 30 voted for @POTUS in 2020, but his approval rating among Americans under 30 has dropped from 70% in February to just 42% now — double the size of the decline among other age groups.
ASSESSING BIDEN APPROVAL (pt 2): Liberal and very liberal Democrats are still more approving of @POTUS than are moderate Democrats. Liberal D’s still say he’s focused on the right things.
ASSESSING BIDEN APPROVAL (pt 3): Here’s how @POTUS compares at the 1-year mark compared to predecessors:
BIDEN’S ACTIONS AS PRESIDENT: Fewer than half describe @POTUS’s actions as “competent”, “effective,” or “focused.” More now call him “distracted.”
A quarter of those who disapprove of the job he’s doing say they like him personally, according to the @CBSNewsPoll. People who hold these views are more likely to identify as independent than with either of the two parties.
LITTLE BIDEN BUYERS’ REMORSE: About 9 in 10 Biden voters still feel better about having him as president than Trump. Even among Biden voters who feel “disappointed” or “frustrated” about his presidency, most feel better about having him in office than they felt about Trump.
When people don’t think @POTUS is focusing on things they care about, they’re more likely to feel he doesn’t care about them. Fewer Americans now think the president cares about their needs and problems than they did last March.
Interviewed first on @CBSMornings, Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker calls the weekend hostage taking "completely overwhelming" and that he's still processing the incident.
@CBSMornings The rabbi recounts for @CBSMornings first making a cup of tea for the hostage-taker, "an opportunity for me to talk to him. In that moment, I didn't hear anything suspicious. Some of his story didn't quite add up, so I was a little bit curious."
@CBSMornings Rabbi Cytron-Walker says he'd recently taken courses with federal and local law enforcement about how to deal with gun-related incidents. In the last hour of the ordeal, "It didn't look good, it didn't sound good. We were terrified."
NEW FROM @CBSNewsPoll: January 6 has had lasting impacts on the nation's psyche, the most immediate of which is that millions of Americans think more violence is coming, and that democracy itself might be threatened. (A thread…)
Events of Jan. 6 were widely condemned when they happened and still are today by majorities of both parties. But there is an alternative set of descriptors and interpretations of those events, and of what should happen next, largely on the right.
A year ago, most Republicans strongly disapproved, but today, their disapproval is spread between strongly and a bit more only somewhat disapproving.
Americans who no longer strongly disapprove are less likely to describe the day's events as an insurrection than they were in Jan.
IN THE OVAL OFFICE… @POTUS Biden and British PM @BorisJohnson meet to discuss pandemic, trade and other issues. Johnson took 3 questions. White House aides shouted down U.S. attempts to ask questions. I asked Biden about southern border and we couldn’t decipher what he said.
@POTUS@BorisJohnson After pleasantries, Johnson suggested "just a couple of questions" and called on a reporter from The Sun, who asked about potential of a U.S.-UK trade deal and then the fate of Anne Sacoolas, charged in the death of 19-year-old Brit Harry Dunn.
@POTUS@BorisJohnson Johnson called on another British reporter who asked Biden again about his reluctance to move on a US-UK trade deal and whether it had to do with his concerns about respecting the Irish protocols.
NEW by @CBSDavidMartin: A drone strike against a suspected car bomb in Kabul turns out to have been a tragic blunder. Defense official says investigation by @CENTCOM determined the 8/29 strike killed an innocent aid worker along with 9 members of his family, including 7 children.
@CBSDavidMartin@CENTCOM The drone strike set off a large secondary explosion that officials originally said was evidence the car was indeed carrying explosives. But investigation determined the secondary explosion most likely set off by a propane tank located in the driveway. - @CBSDavidMartin (2/2)
@CBSDavidMartin@CENTCOM "I offer my profound condolences to the family and friends of those who were killed," Gen. McKenzie, @CENTCOM commander says in Pentagon briefing. "I offer my sincere apology," he adds, then says later: "I am fully responsible."
He was a prized recruit — arguably THE prized recruit — for @NRCC in 2018 and now he is set to leave Congress, cast as a pariah by many in his own party. @RepAGonzalez, who voted to impeach Trump, won’t run again in 2022 nytimes.com/2021/09/16/us/…
Gonzalez: “Politically the environment is so toxic, especially in our own party right now. You can fight your butt off and win this thing, but are you really going to be happy? And the answer is, probably not.”
White House: Kabul airport is open, flights are able to land and depart, including on civilian side. 3,500 troops are on the ground. U.S. military flights are taking off w/ U.S. citizens & U.S. Embassy personnel on board. 700+ evacuated Monday including 150 U.S. citizens.
Important context here: 700+ is far less than what U.S. officials had said would be doable. They've said in recent days the goal is 5,000 per day.
At the Pentagon, defense officials tell reporters there's been "no hostile interactions" with Taliban in Kabul as the evacuation continues.