President Joe Biden ran for office on promises of unifying the country and making everything better by restoring calm and normalcy after the tumultuous tenure of former President Donald Trump, who predicted that his rival would fail miserably in that regard.

Now nearly three years into Biden's presidency, Trump's prediction has been proven prescient as his successor is the deeply unpopular leader of a sharply divided nation where the average feels worse off than they did under the former president, according to a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

And with less than a year until the 2024 election, which appears set to be a rematch of the 2020 contest, Biden is running out of time to convince voters that Trump was wrong about him -- as are all of the other Americans who disapprove of Biden's job performance and long for things to return to the way they were during Trump's presidency.

Things are not looking good for Biden

The Journal's op-ed took note of President Biden's dismal job approval numbers that are reflective of the general public's disappointment over the current president's broken promises and failed policies in comparison to that of his predecessor.

That has also been shown in a string of bad news reports and polling for Biden in recent days and weeks that suggest he is even hemorrhaging support among key constituencies of the Democratic Party, including minorities and young voters -- news to which Biden has responded with anger or dismissive denial.

Perhaps the worst of that bad news is the 2024 general election polls that have increasingly and consistently shown Biden losing the probable rematch against Trump, and by a rather substantial margin in some surveys.

Biden's spin can't overcome lived experiences and personal realities

To be sure, as the Journal's op-ed observed, there is a lot that can change over the next year, and President Biden still has time to try to convince the American people that he deserves a second chance to make good on his prior vows to unify and improve the nation -- particularly while former President Trump deals with dozens of criminal charges in multiple impending trials.

Yet, Biden and his team face a steep uphill climb in attempting to make that case in a way that transcends the public's poor perception of his presidency, and it will likely take more than just revamped messaging from the Biden campaign and White House to achieve that goal.

Biden and his people will undoubtedly try to tout various tidbits of good economic news -- including low unemployment, reduced inflation, and strong economic growth -- but that won't fully appease the millions of Americans still struggling to pay for gas, groceries, and other goods that remain far more expensive now than they were four years ago under Trump and before the COVID pandemic.

Likewise, Team Biden will also likely try to point to an overall reduction in crime across the nation, but that will also be difficult as many Americans have witnessed surging rates of property crimes and localized spikes in violent crimes -- to say nothing of the continually worsening and broadly impactful reality of soaring illegal immigration and trafficking across Biden's open borders.

Left unmentioned by the op-ed -- though certainly of great importance to many Americans -- is the fact that Biden's foreign policies seem to have the nation poised on the edge of another massive global conflict fought on multiple fronts, which stands in stark contrast to the relative worldwide peace and lack of any new or broadened involvement in foreign wars that the people enjoyed under Trump's leadership.

Are you better off under Biden than under Trump?

"If Mr. Biden wants to turn things around, he might try spending less time complaining about his press coverage and more time acknowledging his current dilemma. Face the fact that he has work to do to win back voters’ confidence," the Journal's op-ed stated.

It will take more than just altered messaging and spin from the Biden camp and White House to overcome the lived experience and tough reality many American voters are currently facing, particularly when it comes to crime and the economy.

"Millions of voters are using these simple measures to determine whether they are better off today than they were under Donald Trump," the op-ed concluded. "Their verdict hides in plain sight in Joe Biden’s dismal job-approval ratings."