Is Biden taking advantage of the Ukraine war to save his deteriorating popularity?

WASHINGTON

- Amidst the accelerating events of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, some American analysts are invoking Wag the Dog, a fictional war movie in Albania, to cover up a US president's involvement in a sex scandal.

Many linked the film to the military air attacks launched by Washington and NATO countries on Serbia in 1999 with the call to protect Kosovo Albanians, and the investigations of former President Bill Clinton's sex scandal with the young intern at the White House, Monica Lewinsky.

Some commentators throw accusations at President Joe Biden, as a contributor to making the Ukraine crisis, which has reached the extent of Russia's comprehensive invasion of its lands.

These voices focus on Biden's policies that have restricted the extraction of US gas and oil, which strengthens Russia's position in the global energy market. On the other hand, Biden receives a lot of blame for the failure of his policy to deter the Russian president from carrying out the invasion.

Since the end of last November, Biden has repeated his warnings that Moscow has amassed tens of thousands of its soldiers along its western border with Ukraine, and Biden has presented reports of his intelligence services confirming Russia's intention to invade Ukraine, despite the skeptical reaction from many European allies, It is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself.

Difficult situation for Biden

A recent opinion poll - conducted by NBC News - showed that only 22% of Americans consider their country generally going in the right direction under Biden, while 72% consider it going in the wrong direction, and 6% did not specify They have a clear position.

At the same time, another poll conducted by the "Washington Post" revealed that only 33% of Americans approved of Biden's handling of the Ukraine crisis.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is likely to drive up auto fuel prices amid the highest inflation the United States has experienced in decades, providing Republicans a new line to argue against Biden's foreign policy acumen and its domestic fallout, putting the Democratic Party on shaky ground as voters turn. to the midterm elections next November.

Republicans are likely to control majorities in the House and Senate next November, and will paralyze Biden's agenda during his third and fourth years in office.

Hindering President Biden's infrastructure agenda and then blocking "rebuild for better" legislation lowered the president's popularity, with Democratic Senator John Minchin of West Virginia vowing not to vote in favor of the resolution.

These cases reflect growing doubts about Biden's abilities to lead and unite Democrats, in light of the continuing infighting among his party's currents, especially between progressive members and the traditional majority.

Biden's confrontation with Putin

President Biden campaigned on a promise to stand up to Russia, tweeting in the middle of the 2020 presidential campaign, "Vladimir Putin doesn't want me to be president, he doesn't want me to be the party's candidate, and if you're wondering why, I'm the only one in this." area that he can face.

However, opinion polls indicate the opposite, with a majority of Americans seeing President Putin as more powerful than President Biden.

President Biden has tried vigorously to deter the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at the same time, which his critics believe has given Russian President Putin more influence over global energy supplies, due to Biden's obstructive policies to increase US energy production from gas and oil.

congressional elections

Gina Ellis - former legal advisor to President Donald Trump - mocked President Biden's performance in the face of the Ukraine crisis, and said in a tweet, "Biden is weak and a failure, America without a leader."

With party polarization and an unprecedented divide in Washington between Republicans and Democrats, many GOP leaders, such as Senator Ted Cruz and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, blame the Russian invasion on President Biden's weak leadership.

Some Republicans have already begun to exploit new points to attack Biden;

They accuse him of not being strong enough against Putin.

Republican Senator Kevin Cramer, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Biden's policy "to appease tyrants and thugs, rather than show power, has given authorization to people like Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Iran, the Taliban. It's all for which Biden is responsible."

"It started with the disaster in Afghanistan, which was a signal from Biden to the world that he was weak, indecisive and ineffective, and that Putin took advantage of that weakness," he added.

Ukraine is an opportunity for Biden

But the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine also gives Biden an opportunity to boost his popularity if he manages the crisis after failing to deter Putin.

If Biden can lead the Western camp and keep it united under Washington's leadership, Americans may see him as a strong leader.

Opinion polling expert Jeff Hurwitt says, "There is not much popular desire to participate in the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and therefore I think that the president is going along this line, and is trying to show efficiency in managing a major crisis in foreign policy, after his ability to a severe blow after the withdrawal from Afghanistan."

For his part, Michael McFaul, a former ambassador to Russia during the Barack Obama administration, says the White House "needs to prepare the American people for what is happening in Ukraine, and how that war affects American national interests."

"We can pretend that distant wars do not affect us, but history - especially World War I and World War II - shows that they tend to ultimately affect our security," he adds.

While the Ukraine crisis could dominate the headlines for the next few months, it is not yet known what the days will hold for the changing US role in the crisis, and whether it will remain at its current meager borders, represented in imposing sanctions on Russia and providing aid to Ukraine, or it may end To be drawn into the conflict directly, and this will depend on what Russian President Vladimir Putin will do in the coming days.