The President and First Lady are hosting a dinner tonight at the Summit of the America’s tonight. The three-day event is said to be focused on “Building a Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Future” for our hemisphere. But critics are pointing at what they see as bad signs during the event .

Wednesday night, the president seemed lively as he addressed the annual Summit of the Americas.

“As we meet again today, in a moment when democracy is under assault around the world, let us unite again and renew our conviction that democracy is not only the defining feature of American histories, but the essential ingredient to Americas’ futures," he said.

The crowd in attendance in Los Angeles has seemed to be very enthusiastic about much of what Biden and other leaders are saying. Even critics of Biden see the event as having its strong points.

“One of the things he focused on, democracy for example. And that’s something that’s eroding globally and also eroding in our hemisphere. And, if you can strengthen the rule of law throughout Latin America, but especially in Central America and Mexico, you’re going to at least reduce the problem with migrants wanting to come to our border,: explained Karla Jones of the American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC.

But, at the same time, Jones says it will do nothing for the president’s lagging approval ratings.

:Because the vast majority of Americans don’t really pay attention to what’s going on in the world," she told us.

With immigration still a hot topic and still very much haunting the Biden administration, it must be noted that the three nations that make up the Northern Triangle in Central America as well as Mexico refused to attend. The president has been addressing the immigration issue at the event.

He commented on a plan, “to invest in regional solutions that enhance stability, increase opportunities for safe and orderly migration through the region, and crack down on criminal and human trafficking who prey on desperate people." 

And that’s one reason Jones believes the leaders of Northern Triangle nations and Mexico issued what she called "a protest vote" by not showing up, and she believes  there’s another reason the four nations did not answer the call to show up. She noted the president's approval ratings are down.

“If Biden were incredibly popular, they wouldn’t be doing this. They wouldn't feel that it would be wise to tick off the President of the United States. So that’s where his polling numbers and this summit intersect.”