Editor's note: The video column does what the name says – take note of ideas that may make people uncomfortable. By taking notes and breaking down various opinions, we try to provide an alternative line of thinking that will hopefully generate deeper discussions.

Before the Ukraine conflict, U.S. President Joe Biden's approval rating was at the lowest in his presidency. As the conflict unfolds, it has risen by TWO points from an average of 40 percent to 42. 

That's not much of a rally-around-the-flag bump, is it? His disapproval rating is at 51 percent. And his critics are smelling blood in the water. Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that "this all happened because of us. This happened from the way Biden left Afghanistan… And this happened when he waived Nord Stream 2… this happened by falling all over himself to get in the Iran Deal." Senator Ted Cruz of Texas believes that "every enemy of America took the measure of the man in the Oval Office, and they determined, unfortunately, that the president was weak and feckless and ineffective, and that's a big part of the reason Russia invaded Ukraine." Donald Trump, former president, commented, "How we got here is when they watched Afghanistan, and they watched the most incompetent withdrawal in the history of probably any army, let alone just us."

Three forces are trapping Biden. First is the view of Americans before the conflict. They didn't like the idea of going toe-to-toe against Russia in the first place. Before the conflict, only 15.3 percent wanted American soldiers deployed to Ukraine. Only 30.5 percent agreed to diplomatic pressure.  

Then, the view after the conflict started. Americans are very united in opposing any concessions to Russia. Around 90 percent of Americans don't want to see Russia having more influence. More than 80 percent oppose rolling back NATO's troop deployments in Eastern Europe.

And then there's Biden himself. He does not want to fight a war with Russia. He does not want U.S. soldiers in Ukraine. He wants to assist Ukraine in fighting Russia and come out with something that looks like a victory for the West. Biden wants to win but also wants to keep his hands clean.

From the bottom of their hearts, Americans don't want to be in the Ukraine conflict. But they want a strong showing of America standing against Russia. Biden can't back down. And he is reluctant to go all out and commit military force. 

Biden is trapped. And the cost is very high. The University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers has reported that the index of consumer sentiment had dropped to its lowest level since 2011. The number of Americans believing their personal economic situation will worsen in 2022 has reached its highest since UMich began its survey in the 1940s. Surging gas prices – a result of the conflict – have combined with runaway inflation to pile the hurt on Americans.

Biden's presidency rests on three things: Get rid of COVID-19, keep the economy growing, and have a stable relationship with the international community. Instead, he has failed with the pandemic, is going to have a very tough time with the economy, and America's relationship with the international community is anything but stable.

The future just isn't particularly bright for him.

Scriptwriter: Huang Jiyuan

Cameraman: Zhang Chao

Video editor: Feng Ran

Managing editor: Huang Jiyuan

Senior producer: Bi Jianlu

Supervisor: Mei Yan

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