As US President Joe Biden prepares for his trip to Saudi Arabia and Israel next week, his approval ratings at home are going from bad to worse.
In recent polls, Americans of all political stripes say they are unhappy with the Democratic leader and rate him harshly on his handling of the economy and the direction of the country.
Mr Biden, 79, has had few recent legislative wins and is facing a trifecta of bad news when it comes to the economy.
Petrol prices and inflation are soaring, stock prices are slumping and it's getting more expensive to borrow money as interest rates jump.
The negative headlines have drowned out any good news on the economic front. Even though unemployment sits at only 3.6 per cent, Americans are fretting about the risk of a looming recession.
The latest Monmouth University Poll, released on Tuesday, describes how only 36 per cent of Americans approve of the job Mr Biden is doing, while 58 per cent disapprove.
The graph below shows Mr Biden's approval rating over time, according to a compilation of polls by FiveThirtyEight.
He is now performing worse than Donald Trump did at this point in his presidency.
The president has not had a majority of Americans approve of his job performance for a year.
The last time they did, 48 per cent of those polled approved and 44 per cent disapproved, Monmouth said.
Just as worrying for Mr Biden is that only 10 per cent of Americans say the country is headed in the right direction, while 88 per cent say it is on the wrong track, the survey found.
“The state of the economy has Americans in a foul mood. They are not happy with Washington," said Monmouth University Polling Institute director Patrick Murray.
Mr Murray said in the survey that inflation was the biggest concern facing Americans today.
With midterm elections coming up in November, Mr Biden's ratings augur badly for him and his Democratic Party.
His support even among Democrats has dropped. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found 72 per cent of Democrats approved of his overall performance, down from about 85 per cent in August 2021.
The Republicans are considered almost certain to seize control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate, even as a conservative Supreme Court issues far-reaching rulings that are unpopular among most Americans.
Mr Biden is visiting Israel and Saudi Arabia from July 13 to 16.
While in Jeddah, he is expected to say that all Gulf states should be raising oil production as he tries to rein in petrol prices that have soared since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
President Biden falls from his bike - in pictures
Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
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