WASHINGTON — President Biden will address the nation on Thursday, the White House said, laying out a “six-pronged strategy” to combat the coronavirus pandemic throughout the fall. The speech will likely mark a stark departure from the upbeat announcements of last spring, as vaccination rates rose and infection rates declined.
The Delta variant frustrated Biden’s plans for a “summer of freedom.” With cold weather approaching and children returning to school, he faces a challenge in telling Americans that the end is still in sight — but that he, and they, must do more to bring the pandemic to its conclusion.
Americans’ confidence in Biden’s handling of the pandemic is waning. A new poll from Gallup found that only 40 percent of Americans say the president is communicating clearly on the pandemic; 42 percent say he lacks clarity. “This is the first time Americans have not been more positive than negative about his communication, as a presidential candidate or president-elect in 2020 or as president this year,” Gallup senior editor Jeffrey M. Jones wrote of those results on Tuesday.
A senior administration official disputed the idea that the president is frustrated by the trajectory of the pandemic. Biden is “focused on getting more people vaccinated and putting an end to this virus,” the official said.
Thursday’s speech will come almost exactly six months since the president put the nation on a “war footing” against the coronavirus. “We’re making some real progress now,” he said during that address, delivered during primetime from the East Room of the White House.
The Delta variant frustrated Biden’s plans for a “summer of freedom.” With cold weather approaching and children returning to school, he faces a challenge in telling Americans that the end is still in sight — but that he, and they, must do more to bring the pandemic to its conclusion.
Americans’ confidence in Biden’s handling of the pandemic is waning. A new poll from Gallup found that only 40 percent of Americans say the president is communicating clearly on the pandemic; 42 percent say he lacks clarity. “This is the first time Americans have not been more positive than negative about his communication, as a presidential candidate or president-elect in 2020 or as president this year,” Gallup senior editor Jeffrey M. Jones wrote of those results on Tuesday.
A senior administration official disputed the idea that the president is frustrated by the trajectory of the pandemic. Biden is “focused on getting more people vaccinated and putting an end to this virus,” the official said.
Thursday’s speech will come almost exactly six months since the president put the nation on a “war footing” against the coronavirus. “We’re making some real progress now,” he said during that address, delivered during primetime from the East Room of the White House.
Biden to address pandemic-weary nation
In a speech Thursday, President Biden will lay out a “six-pronged strategy” to combat the coronavirus pandemic throughout the fall.
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