Joe Biden is suddenly winning (just don’t say the ‘R’ word)
- Back from a bout of Covid, the US president is having an unusually good week, scoring key victories in Congress, even as he tries to keep recession talk at bay
- The Democrats are suddenly on a roll and Biden, despite approval ratings stuck below 40 per cent, celebrated their successes with a brief speech on Thursday
Overcoming Covid and outfoxing Republicans: Joe Biden’s having an unusually good week – and he won’t let recession talk spoil his mood.
When the 79-year-old tested positive for the coronavirus last week, it seemed nature had decided to pile in on his already daunting list of man-made woes: highest inflation in four decades, lowest polls of his presidency, and a tiny Democratic congressional majority apparently unable to get anything done.
Fast forward to Wednesday and Biden, declared Covid-19 free by his doctor, emerged from the White House residence to cheers from staff in the Rose Garden. The sun was shining – literally and politically.
“Now I get to go back to the Oval Office,” he said to applause, sounding as if he were opening a birthday present.
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US Senate passes ‘Chips and Science’ act to compete with China’s semiconductor industry
There were reasons for the spring in Biden’s step well beyond the beneficial effects of the five-day course of the therapeutic Paxlovid that helped him through Covid-19.