Republicans Are Succeeding in Making Biden Toxic

It's not just that his policies are bad, he's coming across as a shady guy.

​President Joe Biden has a lot of problems right now.

His approval rating is just a disaster. The latest poll from CNN has him at 39 percent approval to 61 percent disapproval. The RealClearPolitics averages for various policy areas are just brutal.

• Economy: 38.1/58.1

• Inflation: 33.2/62.5

• Immigration: 33.2/60.2

• Crime: 35.7/57.3

• Foreign Policy: 40/55.6

Americans don't have far to look for reasons against voting for Joe Biden in 2024. It seems that a significant majority across the policy board think he's done a pretty terrible job. We're now two years out from his disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, and ever since that moment, Americans by and large haven't really trusted that the best people are in charge of our government.

The Biden team has decided to adopt Bidenomics, and they are pointing to their little sheets of paper and saying that, in fact, the economy is great right now and you should just believe them rather than your lyin' eyes. 

But while the economy may be better on the coasts and in urban Democratic strongholds simply because of the income gap, across the country, Americans are feeling the pain in the grocery store checkout, the gas pump, and in their bills. Inflation is still up - in fact, last month's inflation numbers were revised upward while you weren't looking - and Americans are struggling.

​These numbers, from CNBC, are just brutal:

As of July, 61% of adults still said they are living paycheck to paycheck, according to a new LendingClub report, slightly more than last year’s 59%.

Now, 78% of consumers earning less than $50,000 a year and 65% of those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 were living paycheck to paycheck in July, both up from a year ago, LendingClub found. Of those earning $100,000 or more, only 44% reported living paycheck to paycheck. 

Some 70% of Americans admit to being stressed about finances, according to a separate CNBC Your Money Financial Confidence Survey conducted in March, largely due to inflation, rising interest rates and a lack of savings.

Only 45% of adults said they have an emergency fund. For those who do have emergency savings, about 26% polled said they have less than $5,000 saved.

That survey found that 58% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.

So not only are Biden's policies not working, but Americans are not buying Biden's rhetoric that they are. All around, his policies just stink.

But in the past, some presidents have survived despite their approval ratings on policy. The problem is now that Joe Biden isn't just distrusted because his policies suck, but because of his actions with regard to Hunter Biden's business affairs. The same CNN poll mentioned above also shows most Americans think Biden, as vice president, was involved in Hunter's business.

In what appears to be an effort to protect Hunter, President Biden has kept him close. But the image may actually be making the president's position worse - he is seen as acting inappropriately where his son is concerned. That can lead to more Americans thinking that there is, in fact, a there there. As I mentioned earlier today with the CNN poll, Biden could be essentially encouraging one-third of his base to stay home in November 2024.

This is why Republicans in Congress are hammering the Biden Family Business stuff so much. In fact, it looks like Republicans are narrowing their focus to bribery. But the question ultimately becomes whether or not they pull the trigger on impeachment.

I, for one, am on the fence, but leaning against impeachment. The problem is that you get one shot, and even with the Republicans being in the majority in the House, there's no guarantee some moderates won't vote against it. And even if it passes the House, there's no way you get it through the Senate. Sure, some conservatives want every Republican on the record about this, but is it worth blowing your one shot?

But, if the Republicans just continue to flood the zone with all the information they find, they make Biden appear more and more toxic. Polling suggests Democratic voters want someone different, but they don't have anybody, and now Biden is becoming too radioactive to be seen as a good option. The Democrats and the media can't explain away Biden's problems on the Family Business scandal forever, and it's clear that the defense they're running isn't working if a majority of Americans currently believe he's involved.

What will they think as Republicans continue to drop more info?

God help me for saying it, but the Republicans' strategy appears to be working at the moment. They are making Biden a political hot potato for voters, and if they can just get their side to settle on a primary candidate and begin re-uniting the base, they have a good chance to unseat Biden next year.