President Biden’s policy agenda is incredibly popular, much more popular than his opponent’s. But Biden the man? Not so much.

The question now is whom to blame for the approval gap between the president and his agenda: voters, the media or Biden himself.

Democrats have long argued that their policies are more popular than those of Republicans. In a recent blind test conducted by YouGov, that was unmistakably true. The polling organization asked Americans what they thought about major policies proposed by Biden and Donald Trump without specifying who proposed them. The idea was to see how the public perceived ideas when stripped of tribal associations.

Biden’s agenda was the winner, hands down.

Of the 28 Biden proposals YouGov asked about, 27 were supported by more people than opposed them. Impressively, 24 received support from more than 50 percent of respondents.

22 points

America wants socialism, but our two parties and their donors rather have fascism.

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6 points

America unironically thinks socialism is when the government does stuff.

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1 point
*

I mean, technically it is. But so is fascism. Both have the government tightly controlling everything, including industry. But socialism/communism (in theory) works for the good of the many, while fascism always only works for the good of the few.

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1 point

Americans

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0 points

We never really had true communism didn’t we? God I wish we would try it out…

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-27 points

lol No.

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11 points

Calmly explaining to my stupid tankie friends why public schools and postal services and public wifi at public libraries and Amtrak and Medicare and the Hoover Dam are wildly unpopular. What people really want are more cops, more wars, and more credit card debts.

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-19 points

If America wanted socialism, Bernie Sanders would have been president.

The moment a politician talks about raising taxes, that’s it, they lose votes. Far too many people in the U.S. have been hurting from inflation (which is just another form of taxation, btw) combined with all other forms of taxation.

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5 points

So I just want to be clear about something. Press Secretary, Jean-Pierre said yesterday (as she often repeats per their messaging): “Biden’s record speaks for itself.”

I want to go like, “Hi, Press Secretary. Quick follow-up: If it speaks for itself, then why is Biden losing in every battleground state with an aggregate national approval rating of 37%?”

It doesn’t seem that letting it speak for itself is working.

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71 points

If only he were part of a political party that could execute policy matters without him, as opposed to solely developing and passing legislation and department policy by hand…

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21 points

So if he’s not needed and just being a drag on the ticket why doesn’t he resign?

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30 points

Same reason old folks don’t give up their car keys until well after they should: they enjoy the feeling of crushed skulls beneath the tires.

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-3 points

He can do less harm than somebody else by being president even as a geriatric.

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-17 points
*

Because he’s an arrogant, venal sociopath who’s been running for this office since he had to drop out in 1988?

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7 points

Except when there was an incumbent or he sat out so Clinton could lose.

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46 points

It doesn’t matter. The average voter is functionally illiterate.

They’d vote for the candidate “they’d have a beer with”. They can’t understand anything about policy

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To be fair “have a beer with” is about trust.

If I can’t sit down with you, have a beer, and enjoy myself, I can’t trust you. A president is going to encounter unknown challenges and I need to trust them to solve it.

That being said Trump fails that test immediately. There is no version of “having a beer” with Trump where I could trust him.

Biden however? If you asked the average American what they know about Biden one of the top three answers is “having a beer”, it’s called “grabbing an ice cream” but the principal is the same.

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14 points

To be fair “have a beer with” is about trust.

As evaluated by a college freshman. I can think of a ton of people I have encountered whom I have trusted with money, repairs, my health and I would not enjoy a beer with them

I understand the question is to reduce a complex issue to a binary answer; but I’m afraid too many people take it literally and cannot evaluate a candidate any further

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I completely agree, it’s a simple metric and one that charisma plays a role in. If that’s all you use to judge someone it’s going to be a small part of the story.

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-2 points

I think you meant to say ass cream. It is the stuff you rub on once Mossad shows up with their material and makes you a puppet of Israel.

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15 points

I’m pretty sure I’d have a better time having a beer with Biden, even if he’s asleep, than Trump.

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14 points

If the average voter is so stupid, why can’t the democrats figure out how to appeal to them? Are democrats just too smart? Well I guess we’re going to smart our way into fascism then!

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11 points
*

First, Democrats like to think the other side is stupid. Trump is not stupid. Trump is malicious. Democrats are stupid when they underestimate their enemies.

Trump is a product of religious nationalism whose leaders have joined together and confirmed what many Democrats have known for decades, that a majority of churches in America are nothing more than a cult.

Trump represents that group who wants authority to brainwash and traumatize a large percentage of American people into their cult. They want to integrate religion and law so that you don’t have a choice anymore about what you believe and neither will your kids.

The leaders of the Trump cult don’t actually believe in the Bible. Trump is just a tool to maintain their wealth and power. You can’t maintain a cult when you’re followers are able to think rationally.

Biden is being selfish. He knows the polls are showing he’s going to lose. He knows people never voted for him, but instead they voted no to Trump (who represents religious nationalism). Biden should have never ran a second term. He was never popular. The only thing that was popular was Trump not winning.

If the polls are showing the cult has suckered more people in and he’s going to lose, maybe we should find a candidate that tbose considering joining the cult can relate to… That gives them hope, inspiration, and that appears strong and admirable on the outside.

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7 points
*

Trump is not stupid. Trump is malicious

Trump is both… If Trump were as smart as a hamster, we would all be fucked by now.

Trump is hailed up by smarter people who know anonymity is power and realize they can achieve their goals while putting Trump in the spotlight. Trump is so dumb and so narcissistic, he is happy to tag along for the ride

Imo, later (sooner already passed) Trump will wind up assassinated or in some form of house arrest while his family will be ultra fucked. Unfortunately, we will all pay the price of not stoping his backers earlier on

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1 point

trump is legitimately a stupid person. He is good at threatening and has some weird charisma that works on scum, but he is high-functioning moron.

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4 points

No, your average politician probably a little stupid but massively put of touch.

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29 points

He’s only unpopular because of bots, trolls, and the likes of fox “news”. He’s what AMERICA needed after having a child with 34 felonies ruling by incompetence and revenge for four sad years.

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hes mostly unpopular because the media dosnt cover 90% of the shit he does, and what they do cover they cover vaguely and don’t credit him, because the media is heavily invested in another trump win because trump winning brings in ratings as people tune in every day to see what new horror he has released upon society, like they did in his first term.

Broadcast media has too much vested in a trump win to ever give biden appropriate coverage.

Its why all teh coverage of the debate was “BIDEN OLD, MUST QUIT” and almost nothing about trumps lies or the CNN moderator just letting trump go.

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1 point

the media dosnt cover 90% of the shit he does

He is in the media spotlight constantly. If the President shits, we get news on it. And we have a plethora of friendly venues happy to report all the nice things Biden says he’s doing (until he gives up halfway through, because the Fifth Circuit court or a senior aid or a Senate Parliamentarian tells him to stop).

But it’s not selling, because peoples’ material conditions aren’t improving. The Inflation Reduction Act didn’t improve the cost of living. The college loan forgiveness benefited less than 1% of student borrowers. The exhorbitant sums sent to Ukraine haven’t ended the war or even clawed back any territory. The climate isn’t getting any cooler.

all teh coverage of the debate was “BIDEN OLD, MUST QUIT” and almost nothing about trumps lies

The coverage could have been “Biden Slams Trump on His Many Lies”. But Biden didn’t do that because he’s a senile old coot.

Oh gee! Why isn’t Rachel Maddow singing Joe Biden’s praises right now? Must be because she’s a Russian Bot who hates Democrats and America.

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6 points
*

Imagine picking a Democratic candidate that can’t even handle the bullshit from fox news and then acting all surprised when his polls start to tank.

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makes sence why your instance has the word awful

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Fox News is an utter pile of garbage and by no means a trustworthy media outlet

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6 points

Sure is, so maybe we should have someone who won’t take the bait and talk about their golf game during a presidential debate!

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6 points

Just curious, what percentage of Americans do you think are under the influence of Russian bots? Because roughly a third voted for Trump and roughly a third didn’t vote, add in third party voters and I’m pretty sure that would mean a supermajority of Americans are Russian assets, which is a fascinating perspective.

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2 points

“Victim of Russian propaganda” isn’t the same as “Russian asset.”

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2 points
*

Ok then, what percentage is believing, repeating, and being actively swayed by Russian propaganda?

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6 points

He’s only unpopular because of bots, trolls, and the likes of fox “news”.

And a years-long campaign by Republicans to tap into people’s prejudices against old people. Never mind they’d struggle to name one actual policy position they’d disagree and haven’t bothered to learn of all the things they’d wholeheartedly support if they were just aware of them.

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9 points
*

There is some irony in that every time I talk to conservative friends/family about the things I loath Biden for, they’re reasons they should love him, if only the media reported on it.

He’s weak on the border? The one he tried to close, but was blocked by republicans, so he went around congress to illegally kick out refugees?

There’s too many brown people? He’s deported more people than Trump did.

He’s left Israel out to dry? He sent everything that was allocated to them, and more, and even bombed Yemen to support the genocide of Gaza.

Abortion? Who exactly is letting Roe lie dead?

Welfare? He ended covid protections, child poverty skyrocketed.

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4 points

Can’t understand why he’s not more popular with a track record like that.

Maybe he’s just running in the wrong party.

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7 points

“We defeated medicare”

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1 point

Who said that? Not doubting just curious.

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2 points

No. Dismissing criticism like this is exactly how you got here. People have been raising legitimate concerns for years. And then he decides to 100 percent support genocide of Palestinians during the campaign. Not even conditioning military aid on compliance with international law. Which has the same effect as starting an unpopular war.

That debate was his last chance to convince undecided voters he still has 4 years of mental competency in him and he failed.

This is what happens when you run a sham primary with a weak candidate.

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0 points

No.

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this isn’t your normal no, its a midwestern no.

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0 points

The budget is allocated by Congress and must be dispensed as allocated by the executive branch. Biden could not legally stop the weapons going to Israel. How many times must this be repeated? I see you and others in every single political thread trying to lay dead Palestinian children at Biden’s feet. Biden doesn’t want any more Palestinians to be destroyed- he seems to be a fundamentally decent person. Even though I strongly dislike Biden as president and hate the government of Israel, we all know Trump would ramp up the genocide for his buddy Netanyahu. Are you going to keep playing dumb? It’s that fucking simple.

Unless Biden steps away these are the choices. More, or less, genocide? Because it’s not going to stop until Israel decides it is done.

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2 points

A. That’s not true, check out Trump’s last term for examples of not spending the money as Congress directed.

B. There are laws expressly forbidding the disbursement of aid to regimes committing war crimes. The Leahy Law and Foreign Assistance Act. The bar is internally low as well, “credible evidence”. Anyone who has picked up a newspaper in the last six months has seen credible evidence.

C. This is how you pressure politicians. Don’t tell us to vote for him because we can pressure him and then cry when we pressure him.

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2 points

I’ve never liked him. Better than trump, still bad tho

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-21 points
*

but what makes him qualified

as a career politician what has he done to affect your life so much that y’all immediately want to suck him off so hard?

was it the crime bills, the conservative far right immigration policies, his failed response to $7.25 minimum wage, was it women losing rights they have had for over half a century?

or is it strictly because he is a democrat and likes the color blue?

no the US does not need either of the two senile elders with mental decline

yes that happens after a certain age and anyone who thinks these two are mentally capable or immune to laws of time have never had to take care an elder before

Biden is 82 years old way past retirement and Trump is not far behind

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10 points

What you’re not seeming to take into account is that every democrat I know has issues with Biden but since he is a career politician we know he’s capable of putting knowledgeable people in places he doesn’t have expertise in, which is what a competent leader does (which means I can’t even mention trump, doesn’t come close). The right doesn’t seem to understand you can get your ideas and policies across without full complete love and support for the candidate. He’s not the Dems supreme leader like the right has where everyone has to bow down, it’s a system and he’s just a head to rally behind while others get stuff done.

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2 points

The effective and qualified people he surrounds himself with. Sorry for the death of your argument. RIP

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5 points

Hot take: that crime bill attack was always an interesting one to me.

In Hillary’s election she got heavily criticized for supporting it while non-conservatives supported it, Biden wrote it, Bill Clinton signed it, Bernie Sanders voted for it. I was somewhat surprised this election when people actually remembered that Biden wrote it at all. I didn’t hear much about it in 2020.

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-1 points

You a bot or troll? Either way, you’re not good at it.

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