U.S. President Joe Biden speaks after signing the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on March 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
"They're really down," President Joe Biden said. "Their need for mental health in America has skyrocketed because people have seen everything upset."
WASHINGTON, June 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden has recently said Americans "are really, really down" as they continue to deal with the impact of COVID-19.
"They're really down," Biden told The Associated Press (AP) during an Oval Office interview on Thursday. "Their need for mental health in America has skyrocketed because people have seen everything upset."
"Everything they counted on upset. But most of it's a consequence of, of, of what's happening, what happened is a consequence of the, the COVID crisis," he underscored.
The United States has reported more than 86 million COVID-19 cases and 1 million related deaths since the outbreak of the public health crisis, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.
"People lost their jobs. People are out of their jobs. And then, were they going to get back to work? Schools were closed," Biden said. "Think of this. I think we vastly underestimate this."
He is also in a tough position over rising inflation in the United States.
Only 39 percent of Americans approve of the job Biden is doing as U.S. president, with 47 percent "strongly" disapproving, according to a new USA TODAY/Suffolk poll.
More than seven in 10 -- 71 percent -- say the United States is "on the wrong track, while only 16 percent say it's headed in the right direction, the poll showed. ■
