President Joe Biden's temper out of control over all-time low poll numbers

Joe Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict has landed him in deep water, and the dark consequences started reflecting before his March 7 State of the Union address. The political drama predates the US President erecting a fence around the US Capitol, bracing for his last audition moment at the joint session of Congress before the 2024 elections. Even his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, had been heckled by pro-Palestinian protestors during election campaigns for condoning a genocide in the Gaza Strip. The president met with a similar outroar during his Georgia election rally. All the pent-up rage is being doled out to his staff members, while Biden is allegedly ‘seething’ behind closed doors. His 2024 re-election efforts are not translating into the desired outcome, and the staff is bearing the brunt of the raging storm. 

These reports are nothing new. An NBC report revealed that during a private January meeting, the president caught note of his dipping poll numbers in Michigan and Georgia; his reaction wasn't one of mere disappointment, but instead brought about thundering shouts and swears. Frustrations are only piling up with his frontrunning Republic rival, Donald Trump, in a toe-to-toe competition for polls.

Akin to the capitol fencing, a communication barrier has drifted him apart from the American people, who are at odds with the current administration's ways. An early March survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed that 6 in 10 adults in the US are “not at all confident” in the 81-year-old president's mental capability to head the country again. 

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Those rising concerns are undoubtedly translating to his weak approval rating, which has sharply sunk below that of the last three presidents who were disallowed a second winning term. (George H.W. Bush: 39%, Jimmy Carter: 43%, Donald Trump: 48%) Even antagonising Trump isn't working in his favour – the ‘Women for Biden’ launch being one of the direct strategies through which Jill Biden pitched the ex-president as “dangerous to women.”

A White House insider addressed how the morose president was “probably a little mad at himself for not being more forceful with the staff.” All officials who returned NBC's calls highlighted that Biden needed to focus on what he's done for the country during his initial term instead of harping on about broken bridges. Pro-Biden ex-Louisiana Senator Mart Landrieu echoed the idea, claiming there “is a winning message … about jobs, prosperity and evolution.” 

Joe Biden's poll numbers fall apart

In late January, before the State of the Union speech, Biden was going head-to-head with Trump as the poll registered his numbers at 44% against Trump's 45%. The most recent one, taken from March 8-11, also showed a manageable tie with Trump at 46% and Biden at 44%. However, the same poll displayed concerning numbers right before and after the address, with his approval rating going down from 40 to 39%. Additionally, FiveThirtyEight's estimation of 'How popular/unpopular is Joe Biden?' caught his approval rate hitting an all-time low of 37.4%. Another Union Harris X poll chart recorded after the SOTU clearly demarcates Biden's net approval, sitting at 37% and net disapproval as high as 58%.