Biden downplays drop in approval

President Joe Biden sought to sidestep a drop in his approval ratings and signaled he’s ready to fight for his economic agenda, saying the package is popular with the American public.

Commenting to reporters on the sidelines of one of several events commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, on Saturday, Biden said it’s important for the U.S. to show unity of purpose amid partisan divisions and to show that democracy works.

“If you take a look at the polling data, as down as my numbers have dropped, you’ll see my package is overwhelmingly popular,” Biden said in Shanksville, Penn. “That is why you’re going to see — and I get it — a lot more direct attacks on me.

“I’m a big boy, I’ve been doing this a long time,” he said.

Biden’s poll numbers declined amid the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which ended in August with chaotic scenes of people trying to flee via the Kabul airport and a terrorist attack on the perimeter that killed 13 U.S. service members.

His next challenge is winning congressional approval this fall of his roughly $4 trillion agenda — a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a package of proposed tax hikes and social spending that Democrats are seeking to pass without Republican support.

Biden defended his decision on Afghanistan, citing polls showing that a majority of Americans wanted the 20-year war to end.

“But the flip of it is, they didn’t like how we got out,” he told reporters. “But it’s hard to explain to anybody, how else could you get out?”

He renewed his argument that democratic countries need to show autocrats they can set aside political divisions and succeed.

“That’s the thing that’s going to affect our well-being, more than anything else in the rest of the world, is confidence — knowing that we actually can, in fact, lead by the example of our power again,” Biden said.