The Unintended Consequences of Biden's COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

When President Joe Biden announced that an authoritarian vaccine mandate would be imposed on roughly 100 million Americans by OSHA, the glee on the left was palpable. Today, the unintended consequences of Biden’s attempt to distract from the botched withdrawal in Afghanistan are becoming apparent. According to Morning Consult, hardly a right-wing pollster, Biden’s net approval among black voters have fallen 17 points since the mandate. The share of black voters who disapprove of Biden’s job performance increased 7 points, to 24%, with 14% saying they strongly disapprove.

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President Joe Biden’s sweeping federal rules to mandate vaccines hasn’t hurt him with the overall electorate, but it appears to have spurred a weakening of his standing with one of the most reliable pieces of the Democratic Party’s coalition: Black voters.

Since Morning Consult Political Intelligence surveys conducted immediately before Biden’s Sept. 9 mandate announcement, the president’s net approval rating – the share who approve of his job performance minus the share who disapprove – has fallen 12 percentage points among Black voters, driven by a 17-point drop among unvaccinated Black voters.

The mandate is a dubious public health move, given the number of recovered Americans. It could also prove to be a catastrophic political move. Democrats are already concerned about shifts in the Hispanic vote toward Republicans in 2020 and the recent California recall. While there might not be a similar shift in the black vote, all they have to do is stay home in 2022 to kneecap Democrats. Even Morning Consult notes that Democrats are suffering from an enthusiasm gap.

Related: ‘National Magazine of Texas’ Marvels That Hispanic Texans Are Voting Republican

We tried to warn them. The data has shown that black Americans have had the lowest vaccine uptake since the beginning of the program. All the corporate media talking heads need to do is look at the data from the CDC. Even today, the percent of the eligible black population fully vaccinated is 7% lower than the closest group, which is Hispanic Americans.

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(CDC)

Of course, the unimpressive members of the left-wing clerisy are not at all curious. They dutifully regurgitate the approved narrative that the unvaccinated were ignorant Trump voters in red states.

The media and Joe Biden have attacked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis relentlessly during the Delta surge in his state. He is a Republican and Florida voted for President Trump in 2020. So, surely, the state is full of ignorant white Trump supporters refusing the vaccine, right? I hate to tell Don Lemon, but not exactly.

Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker tells an entirely different story. Only 35.5% of black Floridians have taken the vaccine, while 66% of white residents have. Texas Governor Greg Abbott took similar abuse, and Bloomberg estimates that black Texans have taken the vaccine at a rate approximately 10% lower than their white and Hispanic neighbors.

In Georgia, black vaccination rates lag behind white Georgians by 9%. It’s nearly 5% in Tennessee. Rates between the races are closer in Mississippi and Louisiana.

Related: Newsflash for Biden: Democrats Get COVID Too

When you consider the percentage of the black population that is not vaccinated, the breakdown from Morning Consult becomes an even bigger problem. Keep in mind, approximately 70% of black Americans are not fully vaccinated, and only 34% have taken an initial dose, according to the CDC.

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(Morning Consult)

There were also more significant declines among black voters in their view of Biden’s handling of specific policy areas than the decline among all voters. He is five points underwater with black voters on his handling of immigration and barely making 50% on foreign policy and national security. As Barack Obama reportedly said, “Never underestimate Joe’s ability to f**k things up.”

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