White House Report Card: Biden becomes latest 'Teflon' president

This week’s White House report card finds President Joe Biden facing claims of bribery, a description of his son as dumber than a dog, and his staff so worried about his tripping that he’s now wearing sneakers and avoiding long staircases.

And none of that appears to be impacting his reelection prospects, with one poll showing him crushing potential GOP opponents. He has become the latest “Teflon” president following in a long line of presidents since Ronald Reagan to keep his support high despite everything thrown at him.

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On paper, at least, it was a tough week. Biden first appeared to be sleep-talking during a meeting with the Israeli president. Whistleblowers and GOP House members revealed some nasty details about first son Hunter Biden’s past. And Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) released an FBI document claiming bribes paid by a Ukrainian firm to Biden and his son, and the head of that firm calling his dog “smarter” than Hunter.

But at week’s end, he was bolstered by a Monmouth University poll that showed him winning reelection even if he faced a third-party challenge. And he showed some vigor in rejecting advice from the Pentagon to nominate Adm. Lisa Franchetti to lead the Navy, making her the first woman when confirmed to run any service and sit on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Conservative grader Jed Babbin saw it as a horrible week and graded it an “F.” He cited many reasons, including the unexplained Secret Service move to close its investigation into cocaine found near the Situation Room.

Democratic pollster John Zogby didn’t read a lot into the week of GOP complaints and charges against the president this week in grading it a “B.” He did see, however, that the week was even worse for Biden’s chief challenger, former President Donald Trump, who is likely to be indicted on 2020 election-related charges.

Jed Babbin
Grade: F

A retired cop friend of mine says that there is no better surface for gathering fingerprints than the sort of plastic bag that the White House cocaine was found in. Yet the Secret Service not only failed to take fingerprints (or DNA) from the cocaine baggie found in the White House, they destroyed the evidence. And they declined to interview any possible perps or witnesses. It’s a parody of law enforcement and just another part of the Big Biden Coverup.

The evidence of corruption released by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) this week alleges that both Bidens — Joe and Hunter — each received a $5 million bribe from Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company on which Hunter served as a board member without qualifications. There is, finally, talk among Republicans about impeaching the president. There is a score or more grounds — the open border crisis, just for starters — to do so.

Meanwhile, in an accommodation to the president’s advanced age, White House staff is trying to find a solution to his constant stumbling up and down the stairs to Air Force One. To start, they’re getting him to use a mid-ships shorter staircase that may be less steep to board the presidential aircraft. Maybe they’ll use an escape slide to get him off. On that same note, Biden delivered a Kamala-esque word salad speech on the economy which no one understood.

CBS reported that Biden’s crew had admitted an unprecedented 541,000 illegals into the U.S. under a “parole” arrangement in the last two years. “Parolees” are supposed to be in need of “humanitarian” relief or those who will be a “significant public benefit.” The people admitted by Biden are neither.

Finally, after a steady stream of compelling evidence that China's Wuhan Institute of Virology both invented the COVID virus and released it, the Biden administration — three years late — barred it from getting U.S. funding.

Meanwhile, on the military front, transgender soldiers who are receiving treatment for their gender crises are being exempted from deployment. YGBSM. Anyone fit for duty has always been — and must be — subject to deployment. This is an implied admission that transgender troops aren’t fit to serve.

John Zogby
Grade: B

As President Joe Biden’s son Hunter gathers increased scrutiny for his business and sexual escapades, much of it is overshadowed by the continuing legal problems of his predecessor.

Biden's approval numbers remain in the low 40s, and the polls released this week all show him leading both former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by small margins.

On top of last week's positive news about inflation, the Consumer Confidence Index is up 6 points, and the number of new applicants for unemployment remained low for another week. The president is not cashing in just yet, but his opponents are not able to make gains either.

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Jed Babbin is a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him on Twitter @jedbabbin

John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Survey and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His podcast with son and managing partner and pollster Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Follow him on Twitter @ZogbyStrategies