Public approval: Biden loses to Zelenskyy

NEWS AND OPINION:

World leaders are subject to the highs and lows of public opinion polls even in complex, critical times.

“Weeks after Russia invaded his country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy draws overwhelmingly positive ratings from the American public for his handling of international affairs. Around seven-in-ten Americans (72%) have a lot or some confidence in Zelenskyy, higher than any other international leader,” advises a new Pew Research Center survey.

It asked respondents for reviews of a half-dozen leaders.

French President Emmanuel Macron weighed in with 55% approval rating followed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with 53%.

“Americans are closely divided over their own president’s handling of international affairs: 48% say they have confidence in President Joe Biden in this respect, while 52% say they have not too much or no confidence at all,” the poll analysis said.

Only 15% of Americans expressed confidence in Chinese President Xi Jinping, but he wasn’t the lowest-scoring world leader.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin receives dismal ratings, with only 6% of U.S. adults expressing confidence in him following his decision to invade Ukraine – an all-time low in surveys going back nearly two decades,” the analysis noted.

The survey of 3,581 U.S. adults was conducted March 21-27.

NOW THERE’S A THOUGHT

A certain Florida Republican offers a handy summary of President Biden’s cancellation of the Title 42 border policy, which previously blocked migrants from entering the southern U.S. border during the pandemic. The policy ends May 23.

“Based on what I am being told by officials in South and Central America, expect Biden’s decision to end Title 42 to lead to the biggest migration crisis in U.S. history. It’s not just what Title 42 technically does, it’s what migrants think getting rid of it means,” Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted on Monday.

ANOTHER NEWS BLACKOUT

Major broadcast news reports on ABC, CBS and NBC continue to be skittish about providing basic coverage of the ongoing immigration challenges on the southern U.S. border.

Those challenges could escalate now that the Biden administration announced it would be ending the aforementioned Title 42.

“Considering that the February border crossings were already 63% higher than the same time last year, get ready for a dangerous situation to get even worse,” predicts Scott Whitlock, research director for Newsbusters.org, a conservative press watchdog.

“But you wouldn’t know how bad the situation at the border is if you watched the ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts over the last two months. In February, these shows allowed zero minutes and zero seconds of coverage to the shockingly high border numbers. In March, they were only slightly better, amounting to nine minutes and four seconds,” Mr. Whitlock writes in an analysis released Monday.

Much of even that coverage — over 8 minutes of it — was devoted to Ukrainians trying to cross the U.S. southern border after fleeing war in Europe. The remaining 49 seconds was related to Title 42.

The analysis found that NBC offered the most coverage of all in March, at 6 minutes and 31 seconds. ABC came in second with 2 minutes, and CBS had just a scant 30 seconds.

“Crime at the border and violence by illegal immigrants within the United States are what have been fueling the crisis at the border over the last year. Yet, these topics were ignored over the last two months,” Mr. Whitlock concluded.

HELP ON THE FRONT LINES

A round of applause, please, for the Arlington Restaurant Initiative — or ARI — a partnership between the hospitality industry, law enforcement and Arlington County, Virginia, agencies to discourage alcohol use among underage people, among many other things.

The organization recently cited a pair of popular local restaurants — Don Tito and Bar Bao — for their vigilance in spotting fake IDs and discouraging would-be drinkers. Both establishments were recognized during Arlington County police’s sixth annual “Fake ID awards” on March 31.

“We want to make sure that everyone in our establishment is allowed to have a great time both responsibly and legally,” said Joe McDevitt, general manager of Don Tito — this according to WTOP, an all-news radio station covering the Washington area.

“Arlington’s ARI program is now being replicated in other cities, and businesses like Don Tito and Bar Bao are national models for going the extra mile to detect Fake IDs and prevent underage drinking,” said Brandy Axdahl, senior vice president for responsibility initiatives at Responsibility.org, a nonprofit focused on the persistent challenges of irresponsible alcohol use.

And speaking of fake IDs, they are a national concern. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers recently discovered 47 inbound shipments containing counterfeit U.S. driver’s licenses at the Port of Cincinnati. But this is a regular occurrence.

In 2020, officers seized 14,504 fraudulent identification items — including licenses, Social Security cards, passports, visas and other types of identification. Over 97% originated in China and Hong Kong, according to the federal agency.

“Fake IDs are used to facilitate underage drinking, which is dangerous in and of itself,” said Cincinnati Port Director Richard Gillespie in a written statement.

“The story can get even darker, however. Fake documents are associated with identity theft, public benefit fraud, and human trafficking, and terrorists use them to evade travel screening measures. Our officers and specialists are trained to recognize fake identification documents and they are dedicated to protecting innocent civilians,” Mr. Gillespie said.

POLL DU JOUR

• 13% of U.S. adults describe their political viewpoint as “very conservative.”

• 21% describe their views as “conservative.”

• 31% describe themselves as “moderate.”

• 15% call themselves “liberal.”

• 11% say they are “very liberal.”

• 10% are “not sure” what their political viewpoint is.

SOURCE: An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,500 U.S. adults conducted March 26-29.

• Helpful information to jharper@washingtontimes.com.