Republicans are very happy with the falling approval rating of Joe Biden, but this is not unprecedented. Considering former President Donald Trump’s approval rating is fairly on par, and actually lower at the current time, it is hard for me to really judge a president based on how the general public approves of him or her. 

Apart from the public not really knowing what is going on half the time, if the rating was  based on how the president acted and he got deducted points, I would be more inclined to listen to arguments for their credibility. For example, leaving soldiers in Afghanistan would be a major deduction of points in my book. 

The presidential approval rating came about in 1937, as a gauge of the population’s opinion of how the president was doing during each part of his term. Fluctuations are clear depending on various policy issues, economic situations, wars etc. For example, after 9/11 President G. W. Bush’s approval rating went through the roof soaring as high as 90%. As compared to President Richard Nixon after the Watergate Scandal plummeted to a low 24%

I don’t think it’s fair to assess how a president is doing by how many people approve of his or her job, because that will change largely based on media attention due to a plethora of topics. If the media praises Biden you would likely see the approval rating move up. People respond more to what they hear in the news than doing research for what is going on. This doesn’t mean that I completely agree with what  Biden is doing policy wise, but I do think Republicans get too much joy out of the falling approval rating. 

I understand that news and other media sites tend to focus on topics that will receive the most attention, which obviously makes sense. I simply think that they should discuss more of what the president is actually doing, and weigh in different political views. It is not absurd for me to think that Biden is doing a poor job, but I’m not going to brag about a falling approval rating, because that seems gloating. Problems need to be fixed, people act like idiots regardless if you point it out or not. 

Biden is still my president, I know that many Republicans will not acknowledge that. He needs help. The approval rating may give that indication or it may not. We need people to step up and help create a better America, that can be both you and me. We need to own up to shortcomings and be more empathetic towards others that may fall short.