President Joe Biden participated in a rare live television interview on Monday evening to Cincinnati station Local 12, as his White House contends with surging prices and plummeting approval numbers.
He sat down with the local station just two days after his approval rating hit a new low of 38 percent in the latest USA Today/Suffolk University Poll. Nearly half of those surveyed said Biden failed to meet their expectations for him.
But he shrugged off voters' displeasure when interviewer Kyle Inskeep asked Biden if those numbers meant needing to shift his focus.
'Well look, the poll I saw just before I walked in on another station was my polling number is down, but it's 48 percent to 52 percent,' the president said.
'But look, the point is I didn't run because of the polls.'
He added that Americans were feeling more uncertain right now because of the ongoing pandemic and rising prices at the pump.
'A lot of people are worried,' Biden said. 'Think about this. Look what 750,000 people have died because of COVID. The psychological scars that has put on so many people. Schools have not been opened because of COVID.'
He said 'we're in a situation when there's a lot, a lot of anxiety.'
The president's approval ratings have dropped to 38 percent, according to the USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll
'Gas prices are up, exceedingly high,' Biden continued. 'That's why I have the attorney general taking a look at whether or not these gas companies are gouging people.'
He also claimed his poll numbers were comparable to his predecessors during their time in the White House.
During the seven-minute chat, Biden also talked about the passage of his $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal.
The president was admittedly late for the interview, which Biden chuckled about when Inskeep excused him as a 'very busy man.'
'I'm sorry to keep you waiting, I really am,' Biden said while folding a black mask and setting it down.
President Joe Biden gave a rare live television interview with Cincinnati station Local 12 on Monday evening
The television appearance was not announced beforehand.
Biden said that Kentucky will get 'well over $10 billion' to help repair and build highways and bridges now that his infrastructure bill has passed.
As of late October, Biden had given one-fifth as many interviews as predecessor Donald Trump at this point of his presidency in 2017 and one-eight as many as Barack Obama.
Reporters have lamented of having limited access to the president as his communications team appears to keep him close, which Biden has joked about by saying at several points that he's 'not supposed' to take questions during public remarks.
Most television interviews with Biden since becoming president are pre-recorded.
Late Friday, the House finally passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal, which was facilitated by negotiations senators had with the president over the summer.
Biden lauded the passage on Saturday, falsely claiming it wouldn't cost Americans a penny and insisting it would help fix economic issues like supply chain backlogs and spiking inflation.
In mid-August, Biden's approval rating started to plummet with the bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan amidst an increasingly struggling economy, for which the administration has refused to take blame.
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