It was President Franklin D. Roosevelt who established the tradition to evaluate a first term president’s accomplishment during the newly elected President’s first 100 days in office. On March 4, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated President of the United States. Roosevelt moved at break neck speed during his first 100 days to pull the country out of the depression, get the country back to work, create prosperity and stimulate the economy, the manufacturing, construction and agricultural industries. Roosevelt summoned the United States Congress into a three-month, 100-day special session, during which he presented and was able to rapidly get passed a series of 15 major bills designed to counter the effects of the Great Depression.
Roosevelt passed 76 laws during his first 100 days many directing towards reviving the economy of the United States through various public works projects. Following Roosevelt’s lengthy 3 terms in office, many other presidents also made significant decisions during their first 100 days.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN’S FIRST ADDRESS TO JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS
On April 28, President Joe Biden gave his first address to Congress after his first 100 days in office. The address was extremely historic when it comes the visual for two major reasons. First, two women sat behind him, Kamala Harris, the first African American elected Vice President and Nancy Pelosi the first woman ever elected Speaker of the House. Second, the House Chamber for the Joint Session of Congress was sparsely filled with members of congress, only the Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts in attendance and only 4 cabinet members. The audience size was intentionally reduced because of covid restrictions and social distancing with all in attendance wearing masks.
President Biden marked his first 100 days in office by proposing a $1.8 trillion investment in children, families and education to help rebuild the US economy devastated by the corona virus and compete with rising global competitors.
Biden pointed optimistically to the nation’s emergence from the coronavirus scourge as a moment for America to prove that its democracy can still work and maintain primacy in the world. The speech was considered by many to represent a highly aggressive approach for government involvement to restore the country with a considerable gamble. Biden is governing with the most slender of majorities in the Senate with a 50-50 split and a slim House majority. The speech reflected Biden’s fundamental belief in the power of government as a force for good, as opposed to the traditional Republican condemnation of the size of government and government interference.
President Biden began his speech by telling the joint session of congress and the public by saying in part:
“I can report to the nation: America is on the move again. Turning peril into possibility. Crisis into opportunity. Setback into strength. … America is ready for takeoff. We are working again. Dreaming again. Discovering again. Leading the world again. We have shown each other and the world: There is no quit in America.”
“I have never been more confident or more optimistic about America. We have stared into an abyss of insurrection and autocracy — of pandemic and pain — and ‘We the People’ did not flinch.”
…
“Can our democracy overcome the lies, anger, hate and fears that have pulled us apart? … America’s adversaries – the autocrats of the world – are betting it can’t. They believe we are too full of anger and division and rage. They look at the images of the mob that assaulted this Capitol as proof that the sun is setting on American democracy. They are wrong. And we have to prove them wrong.”
President Biden addressed the broader national crisis over race relations in America by urging legislation be passed by May 25, 2020, the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. Biden also call on Congress to act on the issues of prescription drug pricing, gun control and modernizing the nation’s immigration system.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDENS FIRST 100 DAYS
Following is a listing of President Joe Biden’s accomplishment during his first 100 days in office gleaned from news reports:
RESPONSE TO COVID PANDEMIC
President Bidens dealing with the Covid pandemic is considered his biggest accomplishment during his first 100 days in office. The United States has gone from having one of the worst Covid responses under Trump to being a global leader in vaccinations under Biden.
According to a CNN report:
“Biden came into office pledging to administer 100 million vaccine shots by his 100th day in office, after Trump fell short of his goal to vaccinate 20 million Americans by the end of 2020. The Biden administration reached its 100 million-shot goal in mid-March, about 40 days ahead of schedule. The administration reached 200 million vaccine doses on April 21 — a week ahead of Biden’s updated timetable.
…
Vaccine eligibility opened to everyone 16 years of old and over before Biden’s 100th day in office. Unemployment is falling, with new jobless claims hitting a pandemic low, and schools are reopening for in-person learning, returning kids and families to a semblance of normal life.
…
To increase Americans’ access to vaccines, the Biden administration started a federal retail pharmacy program that turned more pharmacies into vaccination sites. It also opened up vaccinations at community health centers and set up federally run vaccination centers across the country. The President ordered an expansion of the list of eligible vaccinators to include dentists, midwives, paramedics and optometrists, among other professionals, to meet increased demand. The administration also committed to partnering with community organizations to transport seniors and people with disabilities to get their vaccinations.”
“Biden put public health experts and scientists front and center in a number of roles within the administration. He tapped Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who had a contentious relationship with Trump, as chief medical adviser and elevated the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to a Cabinet-level position. And his administration restarted frequent Covid-19 briefings featuring federal government’s public health experts, including Fauci, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, the head of the White House’s Covid-19 health equity task force.”
https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/28/politics/president-biden-first-100-days/index.html
Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill passed without a single Republican vote in both the House and Senate. Biden was successful in getting direct payments of $1,400 per person to more than 160 million households. Hundreds of billions of dollars in aid is expected to arrive for state and local governments. The $1.9 trillion is enough money that overall U.S. growth this year could eclipse 6%, a level not seen since 1984. The Biden Administration believes that amount is more than sufficient to bring back all 8.4 million jobs lost to the pandemic by next year.
A significant amount proposed will ensure that eligible families receive at least $250 monthly per child through 2025, extending the enhanced tax credit that was part of Biden’s COVID-19 aid. There would be more than $400 billion for subsidized child care and free preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds.
Another combined $425 billion will go to permanently reduce health insurance premiums for people who receive coverage through the Affordable Care Act and the national paid family and medical leave program. Spending will be directed toward Pell Grants, historically Black and tribal institutions and to allow people to attend community college tuition-free for two years.
It’s the funding that will pose the biggest obstacle. The funding will be a series of tax increases on the wealthy that would raise about $1.5 trillion over a decade. Not at all surprising is that Republican lawmakers in Congress are highly critical of the total cost of Biden’s plans.
RETURNING TO NORMALCY IN GOVERNING
President Biden has delivered on his pledge to return the presidency to what it looked like before his predecessor Donald Trump. Gone are the inflammatory tweets attacking one and all. Gone are the days of Trump standing on the White House lawn answering questions over the roar of a waiting helicopter. Now there are daily press briefings and selecting a cabinet and staff of seasoned experts, and not appointing cabinet members determined to dismantle the agencies they oversee as was the case with more than a few Trump cabinet members.
Biden has made less progress with his goal of restoring bipartisanship and unity. Not a single Senate Republican voted for the Covid bill. Then there are moderate Democrats like Democrat Seantor West Virginia Joe Manchin who are resisting his efforts and balking in the face of unified GOP opposition to goals like immigration refprm, extending voting rights or passing Biden’s a massive infrastructure package.
As a candidate, Biden issued dozens of comprehensive plans for what he would do as President. But the Biden administration has faced hurdles, including a surge of unaccompanied minors coming across the US-Mexico border. Biden’s approach has shifted in some cases. The White House recently backed off on creating a policing commission that Biden had said he would establish during his first 100 days in office, opting instead to push for legislation in Congress.
CNN REPORT
On April 28, the CNN news agency published on its web page an excellent reports report entitled “Biden’s first 100 days: What he’s gotten done” . The report was written by CNN news reporters Maegan Vazquez, Kate Sullivan, Tami Luhby and Katie Lobosco. Following is an edited and condensed version of the report with the link:
“ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Days before his inauguration, Biden put forth a massive economic relief proposal, asking Congress to approve $1.9 trillion in funding to provide Americans with another round of stimulus checks, aid for the unemployed, support for small businesses and money to help schools reopen safely.
The silver lining for workers after a hellish year? A jobs boom.
In March, Congress approved the package, known as the American Rescue Plan. Much of it mirrored Biden’s proposal, though there were some key changes, including narrowing the scope of the $1,400 stimulus payments, trimming the federal boost to unemployment benefits and jettisoning an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 a hour.
So far, the Biden administration has sent out more than 160 million stimulus payments worth up to $1,400 per person, released more than $80 billion in aid to state education agencies and beefed up Affordable Care Act subsidies on the federal exchange, healthcare.gov. It has also delivered $39 billion to states to help child care providers reopen or stay afloat.
States have largely implemented the $300 federal enhancement to weekly jobless benefits and the extension of two key pandemic unemployment programs through early September. Also in place is a federal income tax break on $10,200 in unemployment compensation for those earning less than $150,000.
The package provides more than $350 billion to states and local governments, territories and tribes, extends a 15% boost to food stamp benefits through September and offers billions of dollars in aid to struggling renters and homeowners. It also greatly enhances the child tax credit for one year, increasing its size, allowing more low-income parents to qualify and providing half of it as a monthly stream of income from July to the end of the year.
Separately, Biden has used his executive powers to expand food assistance, extend the federal moratorium on evictions and continue the suspension of federal student loan payments and interest charges.
Yet the rollout of relief programs hasn’t gone entirely smoothly. A new grant program for struggling restaurants that was established by the bill has yet to launch. The Small Business Administration ran into trouble standing up a grant program for closed theaters and music venues that had been approved under an earlier Covid relief package passed in December. It was taken offline hours after opening and reopened only this week. But money continues to flow through two existing aid programs for small businesses, boosted by the American Rescue Plan: the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
Also going slowly is the Biden administration’s efforts to provide funds to low-income families whose children are missing free- or reduced-price meals in school because they are learning remotely. While Biden increased the value of the Pandemic-EBT benefits and the US Department of Agriculture has approved many more state plans for the 2020-21 school year, about a dozen states have not yet gotten the nod, leaving millions of children waiting for the aid program created last spring. Also, many parents are still waiting for the money even in states that have been approved.
REOPENING SCHOOLS
As early as December, Biden was already pledging to get the majority of schools open by the end of his first 100 days in office.
Unlike other countries, the US leaves school control at the local level, and the challenges to providing in-person instruction are not the same everywhere, making it nearly impossible to create effective federal and even state-level guidance as the pandemic wears on. In some places, school authorities faced strong opposition from powerful teachers’ unions.
At first there was confusion over how the administration defined reopening. When pressed about his administration’s stance during a February 16 CNN town hall, Biden clarified that by the end of his first 100 days, “the goal will be five days a week” of in-person instruction or close to that for K-8 students in particular.
There are certainly more schools offering in-person instruction now than there were at the beginning of 2021. But it remains unclear whether a majority of schools are offering it five days a week for all students.
A first-grader works on an English exercise on the first day of class in Los Angeles on April 13, 2021.
One estimate from the private data-tracking company Burbio says that about 65% of K-12 students are attending schools that offer in-person instruction each day, up from 33% the week Biden took office. About 29% currently attend schools offering hybrid models that include some in-person instruction, and less than 6% have only virtual options.
Younger students are more likely to be offered in-person learning. As of April 20, elementary and middle schools in a little more than half of the 101 largest school districts in the country are offering full five-day-a-week in-person instruction, according to CNN’s tracking.
Some experts say the transition to in-person learning could have come more quickly, arguing that guidelines released by the CDC in February made it harder for schools to reopen. The CDC relaxed its physical distancing guidelines in March, recommending that most students maintain at least 3 feet of distance, accelerating the return to school for some.
HEALTH CARE
Biden has acted swiftly to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, one of his main campaign promises. His administration has already taken multiple steps to reverse efforts by Trump to destroy the Democrats’ landmark health care law.
Biden reopened the federal Affordable Care Act exchange in mid-February, giving uninsured Americans until mid-August to sign up for 2021 coverage and allowing existing enrollees to shop for better plans with their beefed-up subsidies, which last for two years.
That additional assistance was part of the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion relief package. Enrollees will now pay no more than 8.5% of their incomes toward coverage, down from nearly 10%. And lower-income policyholders and the jobless will receive subsidies that eliminate their premiums completely.
Also, those earning more than 400% of the federal poverty level — about $51,000 for an individual and $104,800 for a family of four in 2021 — are now eligible for help for the first time.
The 14 states, and the District of Columbia, that run their own exchanges have also extended enrollment, though the durations differ by state.
Laid-off workers who want to stay on their work-based coverage will receive subsidies that pay the full premium cost from April through September, as part of the relief package.
Biden has also started withdrawing approvals from the Trump administration that enable states to mandate work requirements in Medicaid.
And the administration has asked the Supreme Court to uphold the Affordable Care Act, reversing the position of the Trump administration, which joined Republican-led states in urging the justices to strike down the entire law. The justices have not yet ruled in the case — and if they upend Obamacare, it’s not clear what Biden and congressional Democrats will be able to pass to replace it.
IMMIGRATION
Biden has signed several executive actions taking aim at Trump’s hardline immigration policies, including reversing the former President’s travel ban targeting largely Muslim countries and fortifying the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program after Trump’s efforts to undo protections for undocumented people brought into the country as children.
Biden created a task force focused on identifying and reuniting migrant families separated at the US-Mexico border as a result of Trump’s controversial “zero tolerance” policy, and he revoked a Trump-era proclamation that limited legal immigration during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Young minors talk to an agent at the Donna Department of Homeland Security holding facility in the Rio Grande Valley, March 30, 2021.
Biden rescinded Trump’s national emergency declaration, which allowed his predecessor to dip into additional funds for his signature border wall, and called for a review of ongoing wall projects. He narrowed immigration enforcement in the US. The President also directed relevant agencies to ensure LGBTQI+ refugees and asylum seekers have equal access to protections.
Biden went on to end Trump’s so-called “remain in Mexico” policy, which required asylum seekers to stay in Mexico until their immigration court dates in the United States, and began the gradual entry of migrants who still had active cases. His administration also initiated a review of policies “that have effectively closed the US border to asylum seekers.”
Yet the Biden administration has struggled to keep up with the influx of migrants coming to the US southern border, particularly unaccompanied minors, who have been held in Border Patrol stations as officials scramble to find sites to accommodate them.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which is charged with the care of unaccompanied migrant children, announced or opened at least 11 new temporary facilities to try to get kids out of Border Patrol stations, which are akin to jail-like conditions and not suited for children.
Vice President Kamala Harris was assigned by Biden to oversee efforts with Central American countries to stem the flow of migrants to the US southern border. It is the first major issue Biden has assigned Harris, who is expected to travel to Mexico and Guatemala.
On legal immigration, Biden signed an order seeking to reverse Trump-era policies that targeted low-income immigrants, including calling for a review of the public charge rule, which makes it more difficult for immigrants to obtain legal status if they use public benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers, and reestablished a Task Force on New Americans.
Biden has, however, gone back and forth on refugee admissions. The White House recently said the President would set a new, increased refugee cap by May 15 after facing blowback for keeping the Trump-era ceiling of 15,000, though without the restrictions put in place by Trump.
FOREIGN POLICY
While the US-China relationship was a key issue during the campaign, Biden has focused on three other areas since taking office: Afghanistan, Iran and Russia.
Two decades after the US launched what would become America’s longest war, Biden has committed to withdrawing troops from Afghanistan before September 11, the 20th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and at the Pentagon, just outside Washington.
Biden said the withdrawal will begin May 1, in line with an agreement made with the Taliban during the Trump administration. Some US troops will remain in Afghanistan to protect American diplomats, but a precise number of remaining troops has not been disclosed. US humanitarian and diplomatic efforts will continue in Afghanistan and the US will continue to support peace efforts between the Afghan government and the Taliban, Biden said.
The President has also moved to salvage the US-Iran nuclear deal put in place in 2015 under President Barack Obama, which was abandoned by the Trump administration in 2018.
The US and Iran resumed talks in Vienna in April, though delegations from the two countries did not interact directly but instead exchanged views through officials from the global powers still party to the deal. A State Department official stressed earlier this month that the Vienna conversations were “just the first step of this first phase of a potential return to” the nuclear deal.
…
And the Biden administration issued sweeping sanctions and diplomatic expulsions against Russia in response to Moscow’s interference in the 2020 US election, its SolarWinds cyberattack and its continued occupation and “severe rights abuses” in Crimea.
The US pointed to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service as the group behind the SolarWinds hack. The White House also said it is expelling 10 Russian diplomats in Washington, including “representatives of Russian intelligence services,” for the hack and the election meddling.
The Biden administration also barred US financial institutions from participating in the primary market for bonds issued by Russia’s central bank and other leading financial institutions. Two days before issuing the sanctions, Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and proposed a summit between the two countries later this year.
CLIMATE CRISIS
Last week, Biden fulfilled his pledge to host a global climate summit within his first 100 days in office. During the event, he committed the US to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% to 52% below its 2005 emissions levels by 2030. While the goals are part of the Paris climate agreement, which Biden rejoined upon taking office, they are nonbinding and the administration has not rolled out a plan on how the US will meet them.
The wide range of leaders attending the two-day summit included a number of American allies, such as France’s Emmanuel Macron and the United Kingdom’s Boris Johnson, as well as leaders with whom Biden anticipates having a more confrontational relationship, like China’s Xi Jinping and Putin. While some countries reiterated during the summit that they were working toward their previously set climate goals, others, including Canada and South Korea, announced they were upping their targets.
Biden signed an executive order on his first day in office reversing Trump’s 2017 decision to withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate accords, the landmark international agreement to limit global warming championed by Obama. The US was the first and only country to pull out of the agreement, officially exiting in late 2020.
As part of the global deal, which the US formally rejoined in February after a 30-day review, countries are expected to enhance their commitments to curb greenhouse gas emissions every five years. The goals of the global pact are to limit global warming to well below 2°C and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND INEQUALITY
Biden kicked off his presidency by naming the most racially diverse Cabinet in US history, disbanding the 1776 commission and taking steps to address racial economic inequality, including signing executive orders that could potentially help bridge the gap in homeownership between people of color and White people, strengthen the fight against bigotry faced by Asian Americans and ease the anxiety of families with incarcerated relatives.
Biden signed an executive order in January repealing a Trump-era ban on most transgender Americans joining the military. The Pentagon said in March that its updated policies, which make it easier for transgender individuals to join up and to access medical treatment while serving, go into effect April 30. The changes will also protect transgender individuals from discrimination within the services.
In the wake of … [the] conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, Biden called systemic racism “a stain on our nation’s soul” and said he was heartened by the jury’s verdict, the testimony of other police officers against Chauvin throughout the trial and the collective realization about the reality of systemic racism worldwide that has taken place since Floyd’s death.
Yet his administration said in April that it would stand down on a campaign promise to create a White House-led commission on policing and instead move forward with efforts to pass police reform through legislative channels.
“The Biden-Harris Administration strongly supports the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and is working with Congress to swiftly enact meaningful police reform that brings profound, urgently needed change,” Domestic Policy Council director Susan Rice said in a statement.
NEXT STEPS
Last month, Biden laid out a massive plan to improve the nation’s infrastructure and shift to greener energy.
The roughly $2 trillion proposal, which Congress will spend months on, would provide funding for roads, bridges, trains, broadband, airports, waterways and ports. He would put billions toward manufacturing, job retraining, housing, schools, veterans’ hospitals and federal buildings.
He would also lay out $400 billion to enhance long-term-care services for elderly Americans and those with disabilities, as well as improve the pay of home health workers. To pay for the package, he would increase a variety of taxes on businesses, including raising the corporate rate to 28% from 21%, where it was set by the 2017 Republican tax cuts.
The President is also set to unveil an additional $1.8 trillion federal investment in education, child care and paid family leave during his first address to Congress on Wednesday.
The proposal calls for making community college free for two years, investing in a universal preschool program for 3- and 4-year-olds, providing paid family and medical leave and helping families afford child care. It would also extend or make permanent enhancements to several key tax credits that were contained in the rescue bill.
To pay for the plan, Biden would raise taxes on the wealthy. In particular, he would reverse a key part of the Republicans’ 2017 tax cuts by returning the top marginal income tax rate to 39.6% for those in the top 1%. The GOP law had reduced it to 37%. The President would also raise the capital gains tax rate for households earning more than $1 million annually.”
The link to the full CNN report with photos and graphs is here:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/28/politics/president-biden-first-100-days/index.html
HIGH APPROVAL RATINGS
According to an NBC poll released on April 25, 53% of adults say they approve of Biden’s job as president, including 90% of Democrats, 61% of independents but just 9% of Republicans. The poll found 39% of all respondents say they disapprove of Biden, which essentially the same percent of Trump’s base.
President Biden’s APPROVAL rating of 53% for his first 100 days is essentially equivalent to Führer Trump’s DISAPPROVAL rating of 54% for his first 100 days. President Biden gets his highest marks on handling the pandemic at 69% approval, on dealing with the economy 52% approval, on uniting the country 52% approval and on race relations 49% approval. Throughout his entire 4 years as President Führer Trump never broke a 50% approval rating.
Comparing Führer Trump to President Joe Biden, Trump’s favorable/unfavorable rating in the poll is 32% positive, 55 % negative, while Biden’s score is 50% positive, 36% negative.
The link to the raw NBC poll data is here:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20690434-210098-nbc-news-april-poll-4-25-21-release
EDITED CONDENSED VERSION OF NBC POLL REPORT
Following is an edited and condensed version of the NBC report on its poll:
According to the NBC poll, slightly more than half of Americans say they approve of Biden’s job performance. Biden gets his highest marks on handling the Covid-19 pandemic. Biden gets his lowest marks on the situation at the southern border with Mexico.
The poll found that the public is largely supportive of Biden’s top legislative priorities. It also found that the public is more optimistic about defeating the pandemic and that the public is more optimistic about the country’s direction than it was back in January.
The poll also shows that nearly 1 in 5 Americans (20%) are resistant or hesitant about getting a Covid-19 vaccine. A majority of those polled believe the nation is on the wrong track and an astounding 80% still think the country is mostly divided.
According to the poll, Biden’s job rating is higher than Donald Trump’s was at this same point in time in the poll, 40% approve, 54% disapprove, but it’s lower than Barack Obama’s was at 100 days, 61% approved, 30% disapproved.
Among registered voters in the poll, Biden’s job rating stands at 51% who approve, 43% who disapprove.
The president gets his highest marks on handling the pandemic (69% approve), on dealing with the economy (52% approve), on uniting the country (52% approve) and on race relations (49% approve).
But Biden’s lowest scores come on dealing with China (35 percent), handling the gun issue (34 percent) and dealing with border security and immigration (33 percent).
And by a 55-to-34 percent margin, respondents believe that Biden has returned the country to a more typical way that past presidents have governed the country.
COVID AND INFRASTRUCTURE PLANS POPULAR
The NBC News poll found that Biden’s top legislative priorities are fairly popular with the American public.
46% of Americans say the Covid-19 relief bill he signed into law in March is a good idea, versus 25% who call it a bad idea, with another 26 % who don’t have an opinion.
And 59% say his infrastructure plan — which would upgrade roads and bridges, expand broadband access and pay to care for the elderly and disabled — is a good idea, while 21 percent disagree; 19 percent don’t have an opinion.
By party, 87% of Democrats, 68% of independents and 21% of Republicans support Biden’s infrastructure plan.
56% of respondents said they feel more hopeful when looking at Biden’s leadership and plans for the country, compared with 42% who say they feel more doubtful.
Fifty-one percent believe Biden has so far accomplished a great deal or a fair amount in office, versus 47% who say he’s accomplished very little or just some — a result that virtually matches the popular vote in the 2020 presidential election.
And when it comes to perceptions of Biden’s ideology, 42% of Americans identify the president as moderate; 29% say he’s “very liberal”; 15 percent believe he’s “somewhat liberal”; and a combined 8% say he’s conservative.
GROWING CONFIDENCE IN COVID FIGHT
A majority of Americans — 61% — say the worst is behind the United States when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, while just 19% believe the worst is yet to come.
That’s a significant reversal from the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll in October, when 55% of voters said the worst was yet to come, and when only 25% said the worst was behind the U.S.
The poll also showed that 57% of Americans say they’ve already received a Covid-19 vaccine; another 8% say they will take the vaccine as soon as they can; and 15% say they will wait to see if there are major side effects before take taking it.
That’s compared with 12% who say they will never take the vaccine, as well as another 7% who will take it only if it’s required.
There’s a striking divide by party here: Among Democrats, 74% say they’ve already been vaccinated, while just 4% say they won’t ever take it.
But among Republicans, 40% say they’ve been vaccinated, while 24% say they’ll never take it.
DIVIDED RATHER THAN UNITED
36% of Americans say the country is headed in the right direction — up from 21% who said this in January.
Yet 56% believe the nation is on the wrong track, which continues a streak (going back to George W. Bush’s second term as president) of at least a majority of Americans holding this view in the poll.
And despite Biden’s positive marks on uniting the country, 82% of respondents in the poll say the country is divided, while only 16 percent say it’s united.
OTHER POLL FINDINGS
Asked to pick the one or two most important issues facing the country, Americans’ top responses were Covid-19 (30 percent), uniting the country (25 percent), race relations (23 percent), the economy (23%) and border security and immigration (22%).
The top responses among Democrats were Covid-19 (43%), race relations (35%), guns (25%) and unity (24%).
Among Republicans, the top responses were the border/immigration (47%), the economy (28%), taxes and spending (23%) and unity (17%).
Democrats hold a 5-point advantage in congressional preference, with 47% of registered voters preferring a Democratic-controlled Congress, and with 42% preferring Republicans in charge.
And former President Donald Trump’s favorable/unfavorable rating in the poll is 32% positive, 55 % negative, while Biden’s score is 50% positive, 36% negative.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Any and all references to Der Führer Trump is totally intentional and deserving. This is a political blog and after 4 years of total disruption and daily crisis, racism and hate coming from the WHITE supremist HOUSE that we can now comfortably call the WHITE HOUSE again. The country now has a President we can be proud of and President Biden has proven that the voters made the right decision.
With that said, GET THE DAMN VACCINE!