President Joe Biden pointed to a number of problems he's had to deal with - which might explain his plummeting poll numbers - inclu...
President Joe Biden pointed to a number of problems he's had to deal with - which might explain his plummeting poll numbers - including having to make up for ex-President Donald Trump's missteps, anti-vaxxers prolonging the COVID pandemic, and having to tend to natural disasters like fires and floods.
'This is a process and it's going to be up and down,' he told reporters at the White House Friday. 'That's why I don't look at the polls. Not a joke.'
Biden's numbers have taken a tumble following a bungled Afghanistan pull-out, a border crisis and the ever-present COVID pandemic, with Gallup putting him at 43 per cent.
President Joe Biden had a laundry list of reasons he hasn't delivered on some campaign promises including President Donald Trump 's missteps, anti-vaxxers, fires and floods
'Take a look at what I inherited when I came into office. When I came into office. The state of affairs,' Biden said about former President Donald Trump
'And now we have all these people refusing to get the shot,' Biden said, pointing to the swath of anti-vaxxers in the U.S.
Biden also pointed to Hurricane Ida ripping through Louisiana (pictured) and later flooding parts of New York and New Jersey
Biden also mentioned the wildfires out west. Here a small fire burns near Long Meadow Grove, a Giant Sequoia tree grove near Hot Springs, California
That's a 13 point drop since June, with independents souring on the Democratic president.
Taking questions after delivering remarks from the State Dining Room on COVID booster shots Friday morning, Biden said, 'Remember, I said it was going to take me a yeat to deliver everything.'
'Take a look at what I inherited when I came into office. When I came into office. The state of affairs. Where we were. We had four million people vaccinated, we had no plan, I mean I could go down the list,' he said, pointing a finger at Trump.
'Part of it is dealing with a panaply of things that landed on my plate,' he continued. 'I'm not complaining, it's just reality. It's reality.'
Biden argued that his legislative agenda is 'overwhelmingly popular.'
'But the problem is, with everything happening, not everybody knows what's in that plan,' he said.
The president then pointed to a number of disasters that have prevented him from being fully focused on the two large bills he wants Congress to pass.
'Now part of the problem is I'd hoped - I hadn't planned on but I kind of anticipated. I hadn't planned on 178-an-hour winds, hurricanes going into Louisiana and 20 inches of rain in New York and New Jersey and an area as big as the state of New Jersey is burning down in the west,' he said.
He's also fallen in ratings for every age group, with the steepest drop being among voters aged 18 to 29
The only issue Americans rate him favorably on is the COVID-19 pandemic - by a slim margin
Biden's character and commitment to his beliefs still rates high among voters, though most doubt he's mentally sharp
'And so what I had hoped I would be doing, I'd do what I did in the campaign, I'd be out making the case about what my plan contained - and it's been very much curtailed by a whole range of things,' he continued.
He said he believed it was 'understandable' that people were frustrated.
'Frustrated by, you know, I thought this was going to be better. I thought everything was working out and we were moving along on COVID-19. And now we have all these people refusing to get the shot and now look at the people dying - large number of people dying,' Biden said.
'So I think it's a totally legitimate question - obviously it's a legitimate question to ask. But I think put it in context here. It's going to take some time,' he added.
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