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Biden Laughing at Trevor Noah's Remarks on Suffering of Americans Is Not a Great Look

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  May 01, 2022 4:00 PM

Trevor Noah, host of "The Daily Show," headlined Saturday night's White House Correspondents' Dinner, after President Joe Biden gave his own remarks. Many of the jokes were true, as was also the case with the president's remarks, specifically as he poked fun at himself with his low approval ratings. When it came time for Noah to reference how the American people are hurting from high costs across the board, Biden's reaction really drew responses, for all the wrong reasons.

"I think ever since you came into office, things are really looking up, you know. Gas is up, rent is up, food is up, everything." The camera panned to Biden's reaction, which wasn't a simple chuckle, but some hearty laughter.

The next day, on Sunday afternoon, Joe Biden's personal account tweeted a pitiful attempt of trying to convince Americans that "I'm focused on doing everything I can to lower the cost of gas and energy and accelerate our transition to clean energy."

The tweet once more prompted replies of that clip of the president laughing while the American people suffer under his administration and due to his policies. 

Worse for the president, a poll from The Washington Post-ABC News was released on Sunday morning, as it once more highlights how the American people largely disapprove of how he is handling these issues.

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When it comes to how Biden is handling issues such as "the economy," just 38 percent approve while 57 percent disapprove. On "inflation, that is rising prices," he has just a 28 percent approval level, while 68 percent disapprove. 

A write up for The Washington Post emphasized that not only does Biden perform poorly on economic issues, but the Republican Party is far more trusted:

President Biden’s standing with Americans has improved slightly over the past two months, but he remains in negative territory in most assessments of his performance in office and Republicans hold substantial advantages over Democrats on key economic indicators that are shaping the midterm election year, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The new survey, while better for the president and his party than his low point two months ago, nonetheless underscores the head winds Democratic candidates are facing ahead of the November balloting. With a 42 percent approval rating overall, Biden gets low marks on his handling of the economy and inflation and Republicans are significantly more trusted than Democrats on both measures. 

More than 9 in 10 Americans say they are concerned, at minimum, about the rate of inflation, which has been at a 40-year high in recent months. That includes 44 percent who categorize themselves as “upset.” Republicans are far more likely to call themselves upset over inflation than either independents or Democrats.

The poll was conducted April 24-28 with a random national sample of 1,004 adults, 907 of whom were registered voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. 

A joke Noah left the audience with as they departed also earned laughter, but ultimately reminds us of a painful reality when it comes to the Biden administration handling a crisis, or, more accurately, doesn't handle it.

"Please be careful leaving tonight. We all know this administration doesn't handle evacuations well," Noah told the applauding crowd as they stood up to leave. 

Thirteen service members lost their lives in an August 26 terrorist attack at the Kabul airport. The last American troops evacuated on August 31, with President Biden receiving particularly low remarks on his handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan as well, including with his base, and when it comes to how a majority blame the president for their deaths.