With his poll numbers among adults sinking more each month, President Joe Biden is now seeking acceptance from a constituent group that might not know any better--children.
The President and First Lady spent the day Monday visiting a middle school math classroom and shaking hands with students on their way to lunch in order to mark the first day back for many students across the country.
The location of their visit was Eliot-Hine Middle School, east of the Capitol.
The students were excited to have a visit from the president. “I’m shaking hands with the president!” one student exclaimed.
Biden shared with the students that he remembers what it feels like to come back to school after a summer off.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also visited the school with the Bidens. The First Lady will continue her back-to-school week events with a trip to the Midwest to celebrate teachers and talk about mental health for students.
Jill Biden has been an educator for many years and still teaches English and writing at the Northern Virginia Community College near DC.
Classes start for her on Tuesday. She told the students she's been preparing and that teachers have a hard time sleeping the night before classes start because they are so excited about coming back “because we love our students.”
It wasn't clear how teaching classes would work if she was traveling. The president is not accompanying her on the trip, which has led to speculation about whether his health--physical and mental--needs a rest.
While the students may be excited to meet the president, most Americans are less-than-thrilled with his performance in the job even if they voted for him (which the vast majority of DC residents did).
His overall approval ratings barely even break 40%, and Gen Z voters rate him even lower. Only 39% of voters 18 to 29 approved of Biden, and only 4% approve of him strongly.
It's a far cry from 2021, when 59% approved of him, and 2020 when two-thirds of that age demographic voted for him.
Only 17% wanted to see him run again in 2024, but he has ignored many polls with majorities opposed to that scenario.
Biden and his party seem determined to foist the octogenarian on voters again in 2024, believing he can beat former President Donald Trump, the GOP frontrunner that Republicans love and Democrats love to hate.
