The White House has made no secret of its desire to “reset” Biden’s presidency, and so far, nothing has worked. In fact, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, Biden’s approval ratings have hit another new low.
According to the poll, 41% of voters approve of Biden, while 56% disapprove—his worst showing in that poll since he was inaugurated. But, perhaps the most troubling part of the poll for Biden is that he only has the approval of 71% of Democrats.
On top of this, a recent Rasmussen Reports survey shows that most likely voters believe Biden will be remembered as one of the worst presidents in history.
With the 2022 midterms looming, the Biden presidency is on red alert, and nothing should be off the table regarding ways to reset his presidency and right the ship. Last month, I suggested five people Biden needs to consider letting go to save his floundering presidency. For a few weeks now, one name more than any other has come up as someone Biden could or should let go: White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain.
Truth be told, the chief of staff is a common scapegoat when things go south for a president. But Klain has proven himself to be a special kind of awful for Joe Biden—particularly with his shameless tweets that are routinely mocked, such as his retweeting a Paul Krugman op-ed that that insisted 2021 wasn’t “all bad,” or when he retweeted a poll showing Biden underwater, apparently thinking it was good news.
And then, of course, there’s the infamous Klain tweet that likely doomed Biden’s vaccine mandate.
Even Republicans are urging Biden to ditch Klain. After the failed filibuster vote in the U.S. Senate, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) said Biden “ought to fire his chief of staff immediately.” Others have echoed that sentiment.
The possibility of a shake-up looms large, and Biden was even asked last month whether he was satisfied with his team at the White House—to which Biden replied that he was.
But, despite having the confidence of Joe Biden, Klain has a long list of missteps.
The Washington Post recently reported that Klain managed to antagonize both Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) “amid disputes over legislative strategy and policy,” and he seems to have lost the confidence of others.
“I think that, by and large, he’s making the trains run on time — even though some of the boxcars may seem to be empty some of the time,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said.
Others believe Klain is responsible for Biden’s radical left turn upon taking office. Biden campaigned in 2020 promising to be a uniter who could achieve compromise but has instead embraced a radical left-wing agenda, including a federal takeover of elections and the largest social spending in history. According to a report from Politico, some moderate Democrats in Congress and Hill staffers are privately saying Klain has to be replaced.
Despite Klain’s rocky tenure as chief of staff, he’s been connected to Joe Biden since the 1980s and likely won’t leave his position unless it’s on his own terms. It’s also hard to imagine that any replacement for Klain would pull Biden towards the center. So my guess is Klain will be around for a while. He won’t be made a fall guy for Biden’s failed presidency yet.
