What do Americans want that Biden can give them?

Gas prices, immigration, and the economy are things Americans say they care about.

First of all, let me just say that if you thought this was a nonpartisan blog, think again. I absolutely want Joe Biden to win reelection in 2024. I think Donald Trump is an authoritarian figure who tried to execute a coup to overturn an election, whose foreign policy is chaotic and potentially disastrous, and whose mere presence in the White House turns American politics and society into an unceasing screaming match. The 2010s were not a fun decade, and I do not want them back. So let’s just get that out of the way.

Anyway, I was thinking about what Biden could do in the year until the election in order to make the American people happier. Right now, satisfaction with the direction of the country is at a pretty low ebb, and Biden’s own approval rating remains at a mediocre 40%. Of course, part of Americans’ general unhappiness is probably due to the decade of unrest they just went through, and the feeling that the country is coming apart — when you ask them what the most important problem is, “the government/poor leadership” is the most common answer.

Source: Gallup

I’m honestly not sure Biden can do much about that — Republicans will hate any Democratic President (and vice versa), no matter how much uplifting unifying rhetoric he spouts or how many bipartisan bills he passes. In America, adherents of both parties tend to see the other side’s leaders less as individuals than as living avatars of the other side’s most rabid activist base. I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon, unfortunately.

But on the margin, I think there are a few substantive issues where Biden could make his constituents people feel more positive about where the country is right now. In the poll above, Americans’ other most commonly cited concerns include, inflation, the economy in general, and immigration. I think Biden could probably a bit on all of these fronts. It’s not going to overpower the vibes or cancel the culture wars, but it would be better than nothing.

First, and most importantly, Biden can probably take more steps to fight inflation and enable the Fed to start cutting interest rates.

How Biden can address inflation and interest rates