Tipsheet

Malaise: Any Fleeting Biden Polling Bounce Is Officially Gone

Guy Benson
Guy Benson  |  March 18, 2022 1:15 PM

Was there a polling bounce for President Biden after the State of the Union Address, perhaps aided by something akin to a rally-around-the-flag effect, amid Russia's war against an American ally? We explored that question a bit in recent days, looking at one or two surveys showing the president's standing improving, quickly contradicted by others that reflected the country's continued deep dissatisfaction. It's generally a best practice to watch polling averages, rather than invest too much in any single data set. Outliers can be misleading. So what story is the Real Clear Politics average of Biden's job approval numbers telling us? A very familiar story, at this point: 


You can see the red and black lines starting to converge just a little in recent days, then sharply diverging again as the latest few polls rolled into the average. Biden is back to where he's been, by and large, for quite some time: Deep underwater, with an approval around 41 percent, buffeted by clear majority disapproval (55 percent). One of the latest surveys contributing to this dismal picture comes from Monmouth University's pollster: 


That same survey shows the generic congressional ballot exactly tied, which historically is a pretty solid spot for the GOP. Of course, other polls show a Republican advantage, including a whopping 11-point lead in Rasmussen. That is, unsurprisingly, an outlier. The RCP average points to a more modest Republican lead on this metric, in the ballpark of four points. By the way – in light of recent developments, and amid the struggles of the president and his party – I can't help but wonder if the intrepid journalists in our news media will ask a barrage of pointed follow-ups about this: 

A New York Times report on Wednesday further confirmed the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s "laptop from Hell," despite several Biden administration personnel amplifying claims that the computer was "Russian disinfo" during the weeks leading up to the 2020 election. Ranging from President Biden’s press secretary to the "big guy" himself, the Biden administration did everything they could to discredit reports of the first son's laptop..."Yes, yes, yes," Biden responded to a question about if he believed the laptop was Russian disinformation in a press conference following his electoral win..."Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say," White House press secretary Jen Psaki wrote in October 2020, which was retweeted by now-Domestic Policy Council director Susan Rice.

Oh yes, this piece was widely cited at the time: 


As for those follow-up questions, don't count on them any time soon. Most of the intrepid journalists in our news media were actively part of the suppression of this story, for partisan and ideological reasons. To demand accountability for the censors would be to demand accountability for themselves: 

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This thread is very illustrative and relatively comprehensive: 


The Biden campaign, the Democratic Party, most of the news media, and much of our Big Tech information overlords colluded to crush an accurate news story that was seen as unhelpful to their preferred partisan outcomes, days before a contested election. Many of these people had engaged in years of self-flagellation for covering Hillary Clinton's gross misconduct in the closing days of the last campaign, and they weren't about to make that "mistake again." At this point, that reality is as indisputable as it is disturbing. Will we finally get "now it can be revealed" reporting about the "Big Guy" circa 2025?