U.S. POLITICS 

Almost half of Americans think someone else is making the president’s decisions

A Journal of People report

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 47% of Likely U.S. Voters believe Biden is really doing the job of president. The same number (47%) says others are making decisions for Biden behind the scenes.

The poll results released on March 16, 2021 raise an eyebrow, given the widespread discussion of Biden’s mental state ahead of November’s election.

The poll responses also raise questions about the role of Kamala Harris, who was so widely disliked as a presidential candidate in her own right that she actually dropped out of the Democratic primaries before states began voting, after Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard exposed some of the stains on the California senator’s record on the debate stage. In a year where the country’s reckoning with police abuses featured front and center among election issues, Harris’ term as California’s top prosecutor suggested she was in every way the wrong woman for the job.

Rumors that the 78-year-old politician – the oldest man to be elected president in US history – suffered from dementia or some other incapacitating mental condition were widespread in the runup to November’s vote, fueled by frequent gaffes in which Biden seemed to forget where (and when) he was, as well as important names and events.

In one particularly egregious slip-up, he referred to former President Barack Obama – under whom he served as vice president and whose reputation he essentially ran on – as “President My Boss,” laughing it off after a strained pause.

Most Voters Concerned President Biden Hasn’t Held White House Press Conference Yet

More than six weeks since his inauguration, President Biden still has not held his first White House press conference, and half of voters are worried about his ability to do the job.

A Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 52% of Likely U.S. Voters say they are concerned that Biden has not held a press conference, including 37% who are Very Concerned. Twenty-four percent (24%) say they are Not Very Concerned and 22% are Not At All Concerned.