How’s he doing? Americans weigh in on Biden’s first year

Craig Prichard believes Donald Trump should be in jail. But he's far from your typical anti-Trumper: He voted for him in 2016.

But not in 2020. "No, sir," says the 65-year-old self-described independent from Des Moines, Iowa.

Prichard is still angry at Trump over the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, saying he believes the former president caused it. But it was Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic that led Prichard to vote for Biden in 2020.

"Trump wanted to make it look like COVID was going away," Prichard says. "That wasn't the way to take care of it."

Prichard, who for 40 years built farm machinery, worked construction and eventually retired after a stint at a meatpacking plant last year, says Biden is "handling COVID as well as he can" while juggling a number of other issues.

"Biden, you can tell he's trying to handle the pandemic, food prices, gas prices, Russia, all at the same time, and he doesn't seem to care how he looks," Prichard says. "Because it's not real good right now for him, even though there's less people dying than if Trump were there."

"Trump, turns out, only cared about how he looked," Prichard says.

Biden wasn't Kathleen Paul's first pick. The 74-year-old retired nurse liked Pete Buttigieg in the Democratic primary.

"I thought Biden was sort of 'Jokin' Joe,'" Paul says. "He said things that were so off-the-cuff when (Barack) Obama was president. I thought, 'Can we really take this guy seriously?'"

Turns out, a bit to her surprise, she can.

"I've been really impressed with the way he upholds the dignity of the office, the way he expresses himself," says Paul, a self-described liberal Democrat from Des Moines, Iowa. "I knew he had experience and had been through tragedy. But I didn't know he could project the weight of that."

She credits Biden with following the science in his handling of the pandemic but faults him for his naïve optimism in setting last July 4 as the date by which 70% of the nation's eligible population would be vaccinated. That goal was reached months later but the percentage has slipped under 70% because younger children were made eligible.

She was also upset by the chaotic pullout from Afghanistan, saying the administration should have foreseen the end result: "Bombs going off, people running down runways after planes."

"They made the move, and it was not well done," she says. "If you're there for 20 years, what's another six months to pull the Band-Aid off a little more slowly?"

President Joe Biden speaks about the end of the war in Afghanistan from the State Dining Room of the White House, on Aug. 31, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Eric Ollarsaba says Biden's presidency has been "pretty bad." But the 33-year-old Trump voter isn't surprised.

"He's pretty much doing exactly what I expected him to do," says Ollarsaba, a registered independent who lives in Phoenix and works at an online car retailer. "He's a career politician."

He is disappointed Biden shut the Keystone XL oil pipeline, and he was appalled by the chaotic U.S. military exit from Afghanistan.

"We're probably going to be reliant on other countries for energy, which I could potentially see leading to another conflict, or us involving ourselves in another war," Ollarsaba says. "I think we still needed a U.S. presence in Afghanistan. Not major military operations, but we still need a presence and I think that would make that region — at least for the United States — a little less dangerous."

The U.S. should not have had to rely on the Taliban's cooperation to evacuate Americans from Afghanistan, he says. He worries ceding influence there will allow terrorist groups to gain a foothold.

Vice President Kamala Harris, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., stand and applaud as President Joe Biden addresses a joint session of Congress, on April 28, 2021, in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via AP, Pool, File)

Natalie Rawlings, a registered Democrat who voted for Biden, says the president doesn't get enough credit for all the things that are going right, like the strong job market that has made it easier for workers to switch jobs.

But she thinks that's partly his own fault.

"I don't know why he's having such a hard time with the messaging," says Rawlings, a 50-year-old Atlanta resident who works for a Fortune 500 company. "Did Biden think his plans were going to sell themselves?"

She also thinks Biden has misjudged his ability to cajole his former colleagues in the Senate to back his agenda.

"Biden has bit off more than he can chew," she says. "Maybe if he did things more incrementally, but now that would appear like he's backpedaling."

It's still early, but she's skeptical he'll be a two-term president.

"I can't see a clear path for Biden into a second term," she says.

FILE - President Joe Biden leaves after speaking about the coronavirus pandemic in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Aug. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

J.J. Goicoechea, a cattle rancher from Eureka, Nevada, voted for Trump and plans to vote Republican again, but he says he's been pleasantly surprised with the Biden administration's agricultural initiatives, including those tailored to small family farms and ranches like his.

Farms and ranches have received more than $1 billion in relief dollars since Biden took office. The administration has worked to fund independent processors after beef plants closed during the pandemic and engaged farmers in regards to climate change, working to incentivize them to offset carbon emissions through tactics like planting carbon-capturing crops.

But Goicoechea, 47, worries the attempt to strengthen regulations and the Packers and Stockyards Act could have unintended consequences and raise costs in an industry where many ranchers already operate on small margins. He attributes inflation to the government spending and relief programs that the administration has helped push through Congress and says it has raised costs on everything needed to operate a cattle ranch.

"The cost of doing business has just almost doubled over where it was last year," Goicoechea says, citing the prices of hay, fuel, fertilizer and tires for pickups and tractors. "I'm a little concerned about where that's going. We keep asking for help, they give us a little monetary help, and that kind of drives inflation up higher."

President Joe Biden pauses as he listens to a question about the bombings at the Kabul airport that killed at least 12 U.S. service members, from the East Room of the White House, on Aug. 26, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Patrick Sweeney voted for Biden but has been disappointed the president hasn't pushed back more against the left wing of the Democratic Party.

"I wish he would claim and stake out the middle ground, and be more that, 'This is what the Democratic Party represents,'" says Sweeney, a 62-year-old retired educator in a Phoenix suburb who is not affiliated with a political party.

"So much of the conversation seems to get focused on the extreme left wing of the Democratic Party and progressive positions," Sweeney says. "I think he needs to be more front and center in countering that."

He is pleased with the infrastructure bill Biden signed into law but wishes he'd stopped there instead of pushing a massive increase in social service spending.

"I was enthusiastic about the original infrastructure plan," he says. "I think it's long overdue, and I was really glad to see it, and I think that could've and should've been a great accomplishment. Get the bulldozers and shovels rolling and get to work." He adds: "The Build Back Better plan, I think there's too much in there that I don't see the need for it, or I don't know that the federal government is the solution for it."

President Joe Biden talks with reporters after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House, on Feb. 8, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Lynn Manning-John, a school principal on a Native American reservation on the Nevada-Idaho border, is pleased with Biden's first year in office but worries his presidency has further polarized her community.

At a Walmart in Elko County, Nevada, a ranching region that heavily supported the former president, she's overheard customers complain about how Biden's agenda has permeated "Trump country."

"There is just a reluctance to support the current president," the 45-year-old independent voter says. "There's pushback towards anything that he puts forward, even if it's good and common sense." She was especially happy with Biden's nomination of Deb Haaland, a fellow Native American, as interior secretary.

The superintendent and five out of seven school board members in Elko County resigned last year during protests from parents' groups opposed to lesson plans about equity and diversity in the parts of the county outside the Duck Valley Indian Reservation.

Manning-John sees the resignations and the parents' demands as an outgrowth of the backlash to Biden's 2020 victory.

Biden's election win is still unreal to many Americans, she says.

"And the absolute revolt that has come about since absolutely goes directly to the school boards," she says.

President-elect Joe Biden speaks, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Kai Uchimura, a high school history teacher who lives in Decatur, Georgia, voted for Biden in 2020. He'd give him a "C" grade so far.

Uchimura, 26, describes himself as leaning left on most issues, though he is not a registered Democrat. He says he supports Biden's social policy bill that remains stalled in Congress, but thinks Democrats have done a poor job of explaining its benefits.

"That Build Back Better plan, it seemed like no one knew what was in the bill except for the cost," he says.

He also faults Biden for not pushing earlier to end the filibuster in the Senate that requires 60 votes to advance most legislation. Last week, for the first time, Biden directly advocated eliminating the filibuster in order to debate and vote on election and voting rights legislation.

"I know that when he was coming into office, he had this message of trying to unite the country and extend a hand across the aisle," Uchimura says. "But I wish he would have recognized earlier that this era of bipartisanship seems to be pretty much on thin ice."

President Joe Biden speaks about his infrastructure plan and his domestic agenda during a visit to the Electric City Trolley Museum in Scranton, Pa., on Oct. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Gina Massiah reluctantly voted for Biden, considering him the better of two bad options. But now the 49-year-old social worker isn't so sure.

"Yes, there was a lot of division," the Brooklyn resident says of the Trump era. But with Trump, "you knew what you were getting."

"Was he a bigot? He was all of that. None of us are perfect. We all come with things, right? But I think he would have gotten a lot more done had he gotten reelected." She adds: "I absolutely favor him over Biden. And woo, that's a Black person saying that, right?"

"That might sound insane to some people that I'm saying that," she says, "but that's how I feel."

Massiah, a registered Democrat who doesn't feel bound to either party, lumps Biden in with other politicians who make big promises but "forget about you" once they get into office.

She's particularly dismayed by the lack of progress on racial issues. While she said many had held out hope because Vice President Kamala Harris is a woman of color, "we're still getting gunned down by police. We're still getting targeted when we go into the stores."

Massiah is exhausted.

"I'm just fed up. Truly fed up."

President Joe Biden speaks during a memorial service for former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at the Smith Center in Las Vegas, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Joe Biden is silhouetted by a light as he speaks about the 2021 jobs report in the State Dining Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden speaks from Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol to mark the one year anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol by supporters loyal to then-President Donald Trump, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris arrive to speak from Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol to mark the one year anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol by supporters loyal to then-President Donald Trump, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

President Joe Biden arrives on Air Force One during winter snowstorm at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Monday, Jan. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Joe Biden removes the leash from his new dog Commander, a purebred German shepherd puppy, before he and first lady Jill Biden meet virtually with service members around the world, Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021, in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, to thank them for their service and wish them a Merry Christmas. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden talk with patients after reading "Olaf's Night Before Christmas" at Children's National Hospital in Washington, Friday, Dec. 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Joe Biden receives an honorary degree during the South Carolina State University's 2021 Fall Commencement Ceremony in Orangeburg, S.C., Friday, Dec. 17, 2021, from Alexander Conyers, the interim president of South Carolina State University, right, and Rodney Jenkins, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, left. (. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Joe Biden and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear talk to people as they survey storm damage from tornadoes and extreme weather in Mayfield, Ky., Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris attend the funeral service for former Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas, at the Washington National Cathedral, Friday, Dec. 10, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden talks about infrastructure during an event at the Kansas City Area Transit Authority Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visit the National World War II Memorial to mark the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden points to the crowd as he and Vice President Kamala Harris are introduced during the honors gala for the 44th Kennedy Center Honors at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021. The 2021 Kennedy Center honorees include Motown Records creator Berry Gordy, "Saturday Night Live" mastermind Lorne Michaels, actress-singer Bette Midler, opera singer Justino Diaz and folk music legend Joni Mitchell. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

President Joe Biden passes a challenge coin to a member of the United States Coast Guard at the United States Coast Guard Station Brant Point in Nantucket, Mass., Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021, after virtually meeting with service members from around the world to thank them for their service and wish them a happy Thanksgiving. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Joe Biden jokes about which reporter to call on for a question as he speaks about the bipartisan infrastructure bill in the State Dinning Room of the White House, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

CORRECTS ID TO SOUTH KOREA'S PRESIDENT MOON JAE-IN INSTEAD OF JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER FUMIO KISHIDA - President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and South Korea's President Moon Jae-in listen during an event about the "Global Methane Pledge" at the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021, in Glasgow, Scotland. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden delivers remarks at NJ Transit Meadowlands Maintenance Complex to promote his "Build Back Better" agenda, Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, in Kearny, N.J. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden talks to students during a visit to East End Elementary School to promote his "Build Back Better" agenda, Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, in North Plainfield, N.J. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., talk in a basement hallway of the Capitol after meeting with House Democrats to rescue his his $3.5 trillion government overhaul and salvage a related public works bill, in Washington, Friday, Oct. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President Joe Biden points to a fan from the Republican dugout during the Congressional baseball game at Nationals Park Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021, in Washington. The annual baseball game between Congressional Republicans and Democrats raises money for charity. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden ride their bikes on a trail at Gordons Pond in Rehoboth Beach, Del., Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021. Biden is spending the weekend at his Rehoboth Beach home. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Joe Biden pets a service dog during a briefing on wildfires at the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, Monday, Sept. 13, 2021, in Mather, Calif. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden lay a wreath at the Wall of Names during a visit to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021. The Bidens visited to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden, center, calls out as he is joined by, from left, former President Bill Clinton, former First Lady Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, First Lady Jill Biden and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, during the annual 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021 in New York. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool Photo via AP)

FILE - President Joe Biden tours a neighborhood impacted by Hurricane Ida, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021, in Manville, N.J. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., looks on at right. Not even a month after Ida's torrential leftovers dumped nearly a foot of rain in a few hours in places, turning roads into waterways and leaving 30 people dead, New Jersey's top environmental regulator said this week the state's floodplain property buyback program "definitely needs expansion." (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden watch as a Marine Corps carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Mass., Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. Biden embarked on a solemn journey Sunday to honor and mourn the 13 U.S. troops killed in the suicide attack near the Kabul airport as their remains return to U.S. soil from Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

FILE - In this April 14, 2021, file photo President Joe Biden visits Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. The need for crisis-driven leadership comes to all U.S. presidents. Now, on several fronts at once, it has come to President Joe Biden. As the president who is ending America's longest war, in Afghanistan, he will be judged by history for how he did it. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

FILE - President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, March 25, 2021, in Washington. As President Joe Biden wraps up his first year in the White House, he has held fewer news conferences than any of  his five immediate predecessors at the same point in their presidencies, and has taken part in fewer media interviews than any of his recent predecessors. That's according to new research from Towson University professor emerita Martha Joynt Kumar. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

President Joe Biden listens as Kizzmekia Corbett, an immunologist with the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), right, speaks during a visit at the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory at the NIH, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021, in Bethesda, Md. From left, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, left, Biden, NIH Director Francis Collins and Corbett. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)