President Biden has bumbled upward as he reaches the midway point of his term after failing to deliver on key campaign promises but escaping the shellacking that voters give most presidents near the two-year mark.

Mr. Biden promised in 2020 to “beat” COVID-19 and get the virus “under control.” Although lockdowns have ended and employment has largely recovered, COVID-19 is on the rise again this winter. More than 44% of U.S. counties are experiencing medium to high levels of cases.

Some communities are planning a return to mask mandates.

“It wasn’t possible to get COVID under control, and he didn’t decide there were going to be variants that were as contagious as they are,” said Matt Bennett, an executive vice president at Third Way, a center-left think tank in Washington. “There’s not a single world leader who I think would tell you that they’re completely satisfied with the way that COVID was handled in their country.”

The nation’s economic performance under Mr. Biden has been a mixed bag of record-high inflation, rising interest rates and steady job gains from the lockdown era.

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