“Border and immigration handling” has been identified as President Joe Biden’s biggest failure, according to a survey from the Economist/YouGov.
The survey asked respondents, “Which, if any, of the following do you consider to be the biggest failure of Joe Biden’s presidency?”
It listed several failures, but a plurality, 23 percent, chose border and immigration handling as Biden’s biggest failure.
The high inflation rate came in second place with 17 percent choosing that as Biden’s biggest failure. In third place is Biden’s decision to run for a second term, with eight percent choosing that as the biggest failure of his presidency.
Six percent said Biden’s biggest failure is the withdrawal from Afghanistan, six percent said handling the Israel-Hamas conflict, five percent said handling investigations into President-elect Donald Trump, five percent said pardoning Hunter Biden, and four recent said ineffective messaging.
Another three percent said his handling of abortion policy, and three percent said the increase of the national debt.
One-third of Republicans chose border and immigration handling as Biden’s biggest failure, and 24 percent of independents agreed. Fifteen percent of Democrats said Biden’s decision to run for a second term was his biggest flop.
The survey was taken January 12-14, 2025, among 1,558 respondents. It has a +/- 3.6 percent margin of error.
The survey coincides with reports that the White House in its current state feels “like a morgue” and “glum” as Biden and his administration prepare for a final exit and President-elect Donald Trump and his allies prepare to move back in.
According to NBC News:
In the White House, the mood feels “like a morgue,” according to a person who recently met with officials there. Biden leaves office feeling he contributed significant wins for the country that Americans don’t appreciate. Privately, he has vacillated from feeling melancholy to resigned to angry to wistful as he reflects on his legacy, two people close to him said.
“He’s totally dejected and the people around him are, as well,” another person close to the president said. One White House official attributed the glum atmosphere to Trump’s impending return to the Oval Office and noted that Biden’s aides warmly reacted with cheers when he surprised them at a staff party earlier this week.
The report also cited a White House official who said it is “hard to reflect.”
“It’s hard for it to sink in that we’re done here — until we’re actually done and out the gates with our stuff,” the individual added.
