US President Joe Biden celebrated his 79th birthday on Saturday. The oldest American leader, he is also experiencing a significant drop in ratings. We spoke to ordinary people in the United States, asking them to rate the pros and cons of the presidency of “Sleepy Joe,” as his predecessor Donald Trump called him.
“He’s objectively old.”
Jack Stephenson, call center operator from New York (political preference – Democrat, voted for Biden on the principle “against Trump”, would have preferred Bernie Sanders out of the race):
FOR: “Biden was initially just an opponent of Trump, no one pinned special hopes on him. But Trump’s very position, his ignorance of the coronavirus pandemic, led even my Republican friends to vote for Biden. He is really concerned about the epidemic, and under him the pace of vaccine development has increased significantly. “
AGAINST: “Biden is objectively old, and everyone understands that he will not be able to go for a second term. Many “Democrats” voted for him because he was on Obama’s team. I voted because there were no other options. In my opinion, Bernie Sanders would be the best option, but he is also an “age” politician. He is constantly positioned as a socialist, which scared off many, but in fact he offered a “third” way, in contrast to the Republican conservatives and Democrats, who did not have anyone better than Biden. “
“He’s trying to do something.”
Ross Ma, San Diego-based auto dealer (Republican, did not vote because he personally dislikes Trump):
FOR: “Biden is no worse than Trump, and, as I see it, this is a signal for the Republican Party, which could not put anyone better in the elections. Trump is a serious mistake, he ignored the pandemic, he was too confident in himself and that his business approach would help in politics. Biden, no matter how you treat him, is a politician. I think he will show himself. “
CONS: “I can’t say that Biden is personally to blame for anything. He got a country in a very bad condition. He is trying to do something, but he needs to be more active. The same Trump skillfully manipulated the mood of the workers. Biden doesn’t. It would do him good, though.
“I did not enter, but I removed the troops”
Richard Barr, PR manager from New York (Democrat, voted for Biden “at the call of the heart”):
PROS: “For me, Biden is Obama’s vice president. In my opinion, that team was pretty good. Joseph himself is certainly not Barack. But at least he does not pursue a “twitter policy” (an allusion to Trump’s constant messages on social networks. – “MK” ). He spoke with your president, despite all the controversy, he supports the development of vaccines, although Trump thought it was not so important. “
AGAINST (SOON, FOR): “I cannot answer this question. In reality, he is just another president, he is not omnipotent. Something is not working out for him, for example, the fight against coronavirus. But do we know who would have succeeded. He has withdrawn troops from Afghanistan, and this is already a huge achievement. My acquaintances’ children died there, no one wanted this war, so Biden will go down in history at least as a president who did not introduce, but withdrawn troops.
“No specific ideas”
Klaus Stubbert, IT Specialist based in Austin, Texas (no party affiliation):
FOR: “Biden is a good man – he was not afraid to take power in times like these, you know what I’m talking about. It is clear that he will not be president again. But now such a president is better than the one who says that there is no epidemic.
AGAINST: “He has no concrete ideas for the development of the country. Feeling like he just wanted to outplay Trump and, perhaps, himself did not believe in it. “
