VICTOR JOECKS: Amid broken promises, Biden divides Americans

President Joe Biden once claimed he wanted to unify the country. In one respect, he has: Most people think he’s doing a terrible job.

On Wednesday, a Quinnipiac poll found Biden’s job approval rating is sharply negative, 33 to 53 percent. For context, after the Jan. 6 riot last year, Donald Trump’s approval rating fell 33 percent in a Quinnipiac poll.

That’s a political disaster. It’s not just one poll either. The Real Clear Politics average shows Biden’s net approval rating is underwater at -11.4 percent.

It turns out that making — and breaking — promise after promise doesn’t end up well.

During the campaign, Biden said that he had a plan to get the coronavirus under control. He didn’t.

“220,000 Americans dead,” Biden said during an October 2020 debate. “If you hear nothing else I say tonight, hear this … anyone who is responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the United States of America.”

The death toll under Biden is more than 430,000. His resignation doesn’t appear to be forthcoming.

In August, Biden promised not to leave Americans behind in Afghanistan. He did, and some of them are still there. Americans didn’t like see the Taliban humiliate our military either.

In July, Biden said inflation would be “temporary.” Inflation just hit 7 percent, a four-decade high.

In December, Biden said the supply chain “crisis didn’t occur.” He added, “Shelves are not empty.”

“Here’s why store shelves are empty again in parts of the U.S.,” a NBC News headline read Wednesday. Even CNN had to acknowledge reality. It had a story with a similar headline, “Here’s why grocery stores are struggling to stock their empty shelves.”

These are not niche issues. Even one of those issues could hamper a president. Together, they stoke voter anger that will spill over to the president’s political party. Just look at Virginia.

Biden’s not holding a lot of political capital. Rather than fix these problems, he’s trying to divide Americans.

On Tuesday, he gave a speech in favor of a bill that would federalize election procedures. Among other things, it would require universal mail ballots, unattended drop boxes, early voting and same-day voter registration. It would eliminate photo ID requirements. Those are significant, far-reaching policies.

To push the bill, Biden created a false dichotomy. Either you either agree with him or you’re a racist traitor.

“At consequential moments in history, (elected officials have) a choice: Do you want to be the on the side of Dr. King or George Wallace?” he said. He continued, “Do you want to be on the side of Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis?”

Learning they’re on the side of president of the Confederacy would likely come as a surprise to the 69 percent of African Americans who support photo ID laws.

With that, Biden has destroyed yet another promise — unifying the country. “Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war,” he said during his inaugural address.

No, it doesn’t have to be. But that’s what Biden does when he disparages those who disagree with him in the vilest of terms.

Name-calling may make Biden feel good, but it won’t help unify Americans or boost his approval rating.

Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.