Why aren’t Americans rallying around Biden during a war?

The Biden administration has earned broad praise for its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — at least before the president’s unscripted remark that Russian President Vladimir Putin should not remain in power.

Conventional wisdom has long held that U.S. public opinion rallies around the flag and the president in the wake of international crises. Notably, this jump in support hasn’t even depended on presidential performance. For example, President John F. Kennedy’s approval rating actually increased after the Bay of Pigs fiasco, leading him to quip that the worse he did, the more people loved him.

But can the U.S. response to the war in Ukraine deliver a rally in support for President Biden? Probably not. CONTINUED

Peter K. Enns & Douglas Kriner (Cornell), Monkey Cage


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