Can Biden turn his ship before midterms chaos?

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Joe Biden, speaking at a windy Atlantic port, praised recent infrastructural improvements that make it easier to turn ships around. However, the question is if he can do the same for his administration, half a year away from a likely Democratic shambles in midterm elections.

"We got it done," Biden said to applause from local supporters in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, recounting how before the government-funded project, cargo ships had to perform "tough parallel parking, man."

The address in a hardscrabble harbor maintenance hangar was part of a nationwide travel blitz aimed at restoring domestic political momentum after weeks wasted by the war in Ukraine. 

The Democrat is racing against the clock ahead of the November elections, when Republicans still loyal to Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, are generally anticipated to take control of Congress.

But while Biden has a jet and a bully pulpit, polls show that ever fewer Americans want to listen.

Poll analysis website Fivethirtyeight's average recorded a 42% approval and a 51% disapproval for Biden, the inverse of the approximately 54-35 approval/disapproval numbers he had in his first days as president.

Even if a shocking Quinnipiac poll showing only 33% approval is regarded as an aberration, the President and his party are definitely in trouble.

It's "the worst political environment I've lived through in 30 years of being a political consultant," according to John Anzalone, Biden's 2020 campaign pollster, who predicts potentially catastrophic midterm losses in the House of Representatives while maybe saving the Senate.

Biden's fall 

Record numbers of migrants crossing the Mexican border, disagreements over whether masks should be used against Covid-19, and violent criminality — Biden is a lightning rod for a worried and divided country.

Read more: Most Americans believe world less stable under Biden: Poll

However, while the White House continues to assert that underlying signs show a healthy, strong economy, the harsh reality is that people aren't interested in glowing GDP data. What they perceive are rising food, furniture, and gasoline prices, with overall inflation at a 40-year high.

"The clear evidence is that the Biden policies are not working well for most, including for Biden voters. A trend of buyer's remorse is developing among young, independent, women ... and minority voters," wrote Matt Schlapp, a lobbyist close to Trump, on the Fox News website Wednesday.

"At what point is the Biden administration politically unsalvageable?"

While Republicans attack Biden and "woke", big-government Democrats, his own followers are disillusioned with the stalling of massive social expenditures and environmental goals.

A Gallup poll released this month indicated that young people, who largely supported Biden when he first took office, had abandoned him, with support dropping from approximately 60% to 40%.

Read more: Poll: 62% of Republicans think Putin is a "stronger leader" than Biden

Gallup also discovered a 20 percentage point loss in support for Biden among Black and Latino voters, two additional traditionally strong Democratic populations.

If there is a silver lining for Biden, it is that Republican control of Congress will allow him to shift the focus away from his opponents. Several prior presidents, including Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, suffered midterm defeats before coming back to win second terms.

And, if Trump runs for re-election in 2024, there is speculation that the conspiracy-theory-peddling Republican would be so divisive that Biden may suddenly find himself in demand.