White House Report Card: Biden approval ticks up, Israel support helped

This week’s White House Report Card finds President Joe Biden capping a satisfactory week where he won applause for firmly — and finally — supporting Israel in its defense against attacks from Hamas terrorists.

To show support for Israel, he dispatched his secretaries of State and Defense to the Jewish state and also sent over military equipment and special operations forces.

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But inflation at home continued to show that it is alive and well, boosting the prices of basics Americans use daily, even toothpaste. He pitched his claim of cutting prices and inflation during a Philadelphia event where he tripped walking up four steps.

Evan Vucci/AP

Democratic pollster John Zogby, in grading the week a “C,” highlighted a slight uptick in the president’s approval rating to an average of 43.5%. He also said that by comparison, Biden appears to be in a better place than the chaos of the House Republican leadership or former President Donald Trump.

Conservative grader Jed Babbin, in giving the week a “B-,” said that “this was a very good week for President Joe Biden because he stood up for our only ally in the Middle East, Israel.”

Jed Babbin
Grade B-

Interrupted by a few significant errors, this was a very good week for President Joe Biden because he stood up for our only ally in the Middle East, Israel.

The horrific terrorist attacks made on Israel last Saturday are being dealt with decisively by the Israelis. Nevertheless, Biden first sent the USS Gerald Ford carrier strike group close to Israel, and USAF aircraft began delivering aid and equipment within about 48 hours. Almost two dozen Americans were killed in the attacks, and an unknown number have been taken hostage.

A group of Navy SEALs has been flown to Israel to help the Israeli special forces attempt rescue of the hostages. They probably don’t need the help. Rumor has it that Israel’s “Squadron 13” — their equivalent of our SEALs — has already rescued more than 200 hostages.

Biden, apparently still cozying up to Iran, managed to give a strong speech supporting Israel without mentioning the fact that Hamas is Iran’s proxy and couldn’t have made the Saturday attacks without Iran’s funding, arming, and planning help. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel urging that any counterattack on the Gaza Strip, where Hamas hides behind civilian shields, avoid civilian casualties.

#Bidenflation is again taking significant hold on the U.S., reducing take-home pay and savings.

In all, a good week for Biden.

John Zogby
Grade: C

President Joe Biden bounced back this week.

Gas prices are down despite the talk of a region-wide war in the Middle East. Inflation is gradually slowing down. And the two polls conducted this week show Biden with a 43.5% average approval, ticking up a little.

Even better for the president is how he compares with a dysfunctional majority in the House of Representatives. Courageously ousting Kevin McCarthy from the Speaker’s chair, the GOP has yet to agree on a winning candidate to replace him. Their second choice, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, does not appear to have the votes to get the job — yet.

Biden has issued a strong statement of support for Israel in the current conflict, but horrible events are not over, and a protracted battle on the ground does not serve U.S. interests in the region.

Also, by way of contrast, the president’s predecessor and would-be successor has only offered hallucinatory comments via X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

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Jed Babbin is a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him on Twitter @jedbabbin.

John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Survey and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His podcast with son and managing partner and pollster Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Follow him on Twitter @ZogbyStrategies.