Today, President Joseph “Joe” Biden’s approval poll ranges from 44-42%, the lowest so far in the United States for a President, just next to Trump’s 37% in just seven months. But what types of criticism is leading Biden’s approval rating to be so low?

On January 6th, 2021, against a COVID-19 Pandemic, demands of recounts, and an insurrection attempt on the Capitol Building in Washington DC, Biden was inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States of America. During his campaign, he promised the American people reforms regarding police brutality, equal rights for minority groups, a withdrawal of Afghanistan, and ending the immigration policies that Trump created. However, as soon as he entered office, the President has left doubt from both ends of the political spectrum, from handling American and foreign policies to speculation behind the scenes of the White House.

The Biden administration has worked on multiple assignments that have left criticism within the national agenda. These criticisms started with the border crisis, in which through misinterpretation, many immigrants drove to the border believing that Biden granted asylum for anyone wishing to apply to the United States. In reality, Biden only allowed asylum to those living in the United States illegally. The problem was so severe that Vice President, Kamala Harris, had to ask for people to stop coming to the border, stating that they’ll be turned away when it comes to granting asylum. Apart from many allegations of the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) incidents, such as the current Hatian migrant crisis, the United States’ border problem is still yet to be solved.

Then, the government’s response to the Israeli missile against Palestine has left many critics to be outraged at the support of the Government that were deemed to be “crimes against humanity.” Many Senators, such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) have criticized the action of the Israeli government. Yet the Biden administration did little to nothing in solving the problem with the Palestanian refugees, as the government has not prioritized this conflict as part of their forgien policy agenda, which in turn harms the American government’s image. The United States have been an ally for Israel since the country’s creation and have known to lend or sold weapons to the country for “protection” against the arabic nations and palestanian terrorist.

What really began to hurt Biden’s policies and administration was the withdrawal of American troops in Afghanistan beginning this August after twenty long years. As soon as the United States Army began pulling out, what was thought to be a well-trained Afghan army and strong government that could withhold Taliban guerilla fighters soon plumished as the country quickly collapsed into Taliban rule. While the withdrawal of American troops began in February 2020, during Trump’s presidency when negotiating with the Taliban, it was Biden who took the blame. Ironically, many American citizens since the end of the Presidency of George W. Bush called for the withdrawal of now veterans and are pointing the finger at Biden for allowing Afghanistan to be captured. This is hypocritical to what the American people have preached for since 9/11.

Pfizer and Moderna have found a preventative measure for the Coronavirus that caused every nation to go into lockdown, yet it doesn’t mean that COVID-19 cases had vanished completely. On the contrary, the Covid cases have actually risen, slowly and steadily, due to the Delta variant. And yet again Biden provided unnecessary explanations and commentaries to the average citizen.

President Biden proposed an infrastructure bill to Congress that is yet to be voted on. Republicans are divided in voting yes and no for the first time, while Democrats are reconsidering about the bill being a bipartisan one. Senator Krysten Simena of Arizona is a key player due to her bipartisan stance in trying to convince Republicans, with the Republican Minority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky having voted yes despite House Republicans wanting their rank members to vote no. Biden wants to get this dealt with before heading to Rome for an international economic agenda.

There also have been people researching President Biden’s past, in which there’s been speculation evidence of racism. One of these was his contribution to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, known by many as either the 1994 Crime Bill, Clinton Crime Bill, or Biden Crime Bill. which raised funding for prison, prevention programs, and new police officers. While there was a reduction of crime, Prison cells skyrocketed, and many people incarcerated were ethnical minority groups, mostly latinx and african americans, and many pointed that Biden helped “criminalized ” many ethnic groups.

Preuss student junior Alvaro Carillo (‘23) expressed his thoughts about the President’s presidency this year. “I can acknowledge the fact that although he was racist at a younger age, he has changed the way that he acted towards the people he offended. I also believe that I do not think that his age or health affects him in any way in being President.” Preus teacher Mrs. Majors also supports the President’s near first year term. “I think he inherited a lot of problems that go back to presidents and presidents before him,” stated Mrs. Majors, “He may have contributed to that mess, there may be some vitality in that, but I think it’s unrealistic for people to expect a quick or simple solution to these very complex problems.”

Biden promised change and progress during a time when protests were happening, and apart from his Federal Juneteenth Holiday signing (his first accomplishment so far), he has yet to complete any progressive matter. Biden may not be the ideal or perfect President, but many have blamed him mostly for what’s going wrong for the United States. In American society, every big problem such as climate change and the economy is decided and resolved by politicians. Biden, being the president, is the first politician targeted. The media has also played a role in Biden’s poll rating. Due to his age making him be the oldest president to take office, many times it has been speculated that his health is deteriorating more and more and that those around him are doing his work while he’s a figurehead. Yet, that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be criticized blindly.