In an interview that was released on Tuesday, First Lady Jill Biden praised her husband and the work of his administration, saying she wishes the public could see how diligently he worked to address the issues confronting the country.
Crisis after crisis, from the failed pullout from Afghanistan to inflation and rising gas costs, have taken a toll on President Joe Biden’s reputation.
According to Gallup, it reached a new low this week, dropping to 38%.
He was in power during a “difficult moment in history,” Jill Biden said, before listing his accomplishments.
‘Sometimes it feels like we’re pushing this boulder up the hill, but progress is being made,’ she said in an interview with Real Simple magazine.
‘Joe’s been in office for, what, 18 months now? And everybody has access to vaccines.
‘We got the schools reopened — thank God we all got off Zoom — we got health care, we got money for broadband so underserved kids can have internet.
‘I don’t want to sound like a political ad, but we have done so much. Gas prices are a huge issue, and Joe is, every single day, on the phone talking to leaders about gas and oil.
‘These problems are coming so fast and furious, and certainly a lot of it is dark, like you said.
‘But I wish people could see more of what Joe has accomplished and how hard he’s working.’
The first lady’s personal press secretary is one of the most recent departures from the White House press office, which suggests senior individuals agree with her assessment that the message is not reaching voters.
It also happens amid a productive week for Biden. He was able to declare on Monday that a drone attack by the United States had killed Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al Qaeda.
However, Democrats worry that Biden’s dismal popularity might negatively affect them in November’s midterm elections.
In Gallup’s weekly presidential approval survey, his support for the first time dropped below 40% this week.
Before that, even worse than Jimmy Carter and Donald Trump, his sixth quarter approval rating of 40% was the lowest ever for a president at the same time of his administration.
Jill Biden firmly believed that her husband was the ideal candidate at the moment.
She described him as solid, robust, wise, knowledgeable about politics, and aware of the direction he wants to take the nation in.
She said that her husband will continue to push for the implementation of pre-K for everybody. She continued by saying that he understood the value of helping families because of his life story.
‘Don’t forget he was a single parent,’ she said. ‘His first wife died in a car accident with his daughter, and he was a single parent to two boys for five years.
‘He knows how hard it is. He was a senator, and he had his mother helping him out, but there were the parent-teacher conferences, the games, his job.’
That meant he would keep fighting for better help for families, she continued.
‘He keeps pushing it, but Congress has got to step up,’ she said.
‘The House passed the subsidized childcare and his universal pre-K bills, but the Senate did not.
‘I don’t understand why it wasn’t instantly voted in. Joe’s not going to give up.’
She also offered her tips for a long marriage, and the role of Post-it notes in running her home and relationships.
‘And if I want to get a message to Joe, I put one on his mirror,’ she said. ‘It may be a nice “I missed you” or ”I hope you get whatever it is you’re working on.”‘
They also have dinner together – without phones or TV – whenever they can.
‘You have to work in any relationship, but especially in marriage,’ she said.
‘It’s not always 50/50. Sometimes you lean on him, sometimes he leans on you.
‘Sometimes he’s super busy and I have to pick up a lot of it, or vice versa.
‘The goal is that we’re not in the same place at the same time, so we can count on one another when we need to.’