Perhaps it wasnt a coincidence that Joe Biden delayed his first trip to West Asia since taking office until now.
The challenges facing the United States President back home, it appears, have become too much to handle.
Biden took another leaf out of Trumps book and hit the same note in his meeting with Israeli leaders in the occupied Palestinian territories.If it was up to the White House this visit would have been pushed just a little closer to the November mid-term elections, where the Democrats look set to lose their grip on Congress.Just how bad the losses are, will be decided by two factors.
The first is how much the latest mass shootings will hurt the pro-gun Republican Party.
It appears to be seen until Election Day how damaging this will be because the GOP have been clever in backing what was described as a landmark gun reform bill.The legislation didnt prevent another mass shooting and it might have daunted everyone that the record number of guns, dangerous assault rifles on the streets, and their accessibility to young teenagers may be behind Americas gun epidemic.Believe it or not, that isnt the biggest challenge facing the Democrats at the moment.
The second factor is revolved around the latest inflation report released this week, which is not just troubling but puts extra focus on whether Biden is the right leader to steer Americans away from the economic hardship they are facing.The new report shows inflation in June increased by 1.3 percent to hit 9.1 percent in comparison with last year.
That is even more than what forecasters had predicted and means yet another new damaging 40-year high.The rising cost of food, rent, fuel, and gas is having the biggest financial burden on Americans, leaving Biden with the weakest popularity figures.
Numbers not seen for a long time.His efforts to negotiate with oil and gas companies in America to lower their prices isnt working as these companies dont have any real competition on the market and will rather soak in the profits instead of listening to a President whose popularity is so low, its highly likely he wont make a second term as things stand at the moment.
Polls show if an election was held today, even against his former rival Trump, he would lose out.The United States President has also been urging congress to pass a bill on new spending proposals which the White House claims will ease the burden on American households by lowering the price of prescription medication.However, there is uncertainty about the future of the financial bill with Republicans and even some Democrats reluctant to back it, which leaves Biden struggling to convince Americans he is the right man for the job.Following the release of the inflation report, the chair of the Republican Partys National Committee Ronna McDaniel labeled the state of the economy as insanity saying voters know the best way to combat inflation is to vote out Democrats in November who rubber-stamped Bidens failed agenda.And with that, Biden took the first plane out of Washington DC and turned to that last card when things are not just going badly, they appear to have hit a brick wall.Firstly please the Zionist lobby by renewing the fake Iranian threat with promises of cutting edge military technology.
Secondly plead with the Saudis to increase oil output by trying not to mention the op-Ed written during the Presidential race that described Saudi Arabia as a pariah state.In the occupied Palestinian territories, Biden certainly looked the part, unwilling to take off the sunglasses even during a photo op until a photographer asked him to do so.The American President followed all the guidelines when visiting Israeli leaders.
He lashed out at Iran, threatening to use force to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.The problem with this argument is that its not just Iranian leaders that say they are not seeking nuclear weapons but international intelligence agencies including the United States intelligence community, which has testified before Congress that Irans nuclear program is peaceful (leading to a public clash with former President Trump).Will that work to distract from the troubles back home? voters will decide if such a non-existent threat exists, some Israeli regime leaders have been saying Irans nuclear program is military in nature since 1992.
There needs to be this imagined threat so the Israeli regime can maintain its cutting edge military assistance from the United States at the expense of American taxpayers, but Biden will refrain from saying that last bit in public.Its also another desperate bid to save a regime that is crumbling from within as a political crisis unfolds and leaders of different sectors citing the curse of the eighth decades coming back to haunt them again.
The majority of Israels leaders believe in the eighth-decade curse, according to scholarly reports, most of Israel's governments collapsed after Solomon during the eighth decade.In Saudi Arabia, Biden may not get what he wants.
Late last month, photographers caught French President Emmanuel Macron telling Biden at the NATO summit that the UAE ruler had confided to him that two of OPECs leading oil exporters are already pumping almost as much as they can.Macron was heard relaying to Biden a conversation with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, I had a call with MbZ, He told me two things.
I'm at a maximum, maximum (production capacity).
This is what he claims.
And then he said (the) Saudis can increase by 150 (thousands of barrels per day).
Maybe a little bit more, but they don't have huge capacities before six months' time Macron said to Biden.Apart from that, oil-market experts argue that Riyadh would be reluctant to raise output in fear of rattling the market and their move backfiring.The United States Presidents visit to Saudi Arabia has also been met with a lot of criticism.
Considering what he repeatedly said about the Kingdom and its human rights record in the lead-up to his Presidency to then place Riyadh second on his itinerary in West Asia is an indication of just how much trouble Biden is in.He can point to his direct trip from Israel to Saudi Arabia as a sign of his efforts to normalize relations between the Israeli regime and Arab leaders.
But public opinion and protests against normalization show the people in West Asia dont want their leaders having anything to do with a usurping, apartheid warmongering regime occupying Palestinian land and Islams third holiest site.Bidens first trip to West Asia is quite a desperate bid to distract the American public from the economic woes back home.
It might help him a little in boosting his popularity with various lobbies and some rich voters who dont exactly care about the economy or Americans turning to food banks, but will it help him cross the finish line? Perhaps not.A recent New York Times/Siena College poll shows economic concern is of the utmost importance among working-class voters and only 20 percent of democrats and democratic-leaning independent voters believe Bidens policies have improved the economy.If Bidens attempts at expanding NATOs military towards Russian borders despite Moscows repeated warnings not to do so triggered the military conflict Washington wanted backfired by exacerbating inflation levels and then Biden blaming Putin in every second sentence for the economic woes hasnt worked out like it was supposed to do, all the indications are that Bidens new foreign policy ventures will backfire in a similar fashion.