Biden’s Approval Rating Hits Record Low, Poll Finds - Forbes

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Topline

President Joe Biden’s approval rating has hit a new low, with less than 40% now approving of his job performance, a new Associated Press-NORC poll finds, as even Democrats take a dimmer view of the president as the U.S. battles issues like inflation, war in Ukraine, the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing baby formula shortage.

Key Facts

The poll found Biden has only a 39% approval rating, which is the lowest approval rating of his presidency thus far, down from 45% in mid-April and 63% a year ago.

Biden’s previous lowest approval rating was in January, when the AP found 43% approved of his presidency a year after his inauguration.

While the AP notes Republicans’ disapproval of Biden has remained steady—the poll found less than one in 10 GOP respondents approve of him—his popularity among Democrats has declined throughout his presidency, with 73% approving of his job performance now.

The AP notes Biden’s approval with Democrats is much lower now than it was in 2021, when he always had at least an 82% approval rating among his own party.

Two-thirds of respondents disapprove of how Biden’s handled the economy, and only 38% approve of his job on immigration.

The poll was conducted May 12-16 among 1,172 U.S. adults.

Big Number

33%. That’s the share of Democrats who say the U.S. is “moving in the right direction,” the poll found, a substantial drop from the 49% who said the same in April. The poll found approximately 20% of respondents feel the country is moving in the right direction overall, down from around 30% last month.

What To Watch For

How Biden’s popularity among Democrats will affect the midterms. Recent polling has suggested Republicans are more enthusiastic to vote in November, and Democrats’ declining view of the president’s job performance could result in more on the left deciding to stay home. There are factors that could change that, however, such as if the Supreme Court rolls back abortion rights by overturning Roe v. Wade, which Democratic strategists are hoping will be a catalyst to get more of their base to the polls.

Crucial Quote

“I don’t know how much worse it can get,” Milan Ramsey, a 29-year-old Democrat in California, told the AP, adding that Biden “hasn’t delivered on any of the promises.”

Key Background

Biden’s declining approval rating comes as the U.S. faces issues like the ongoing war in Ukraine, rising inflation, a national baby formula shortage, mass shootings and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, which is seeing a new surge in cases as the federal government faces a shortage of pandemic funds. The AP poll is in line with other recent polling, with a NPR/PBS News Hour/Marist poll conducted May 9-13 similarly finding 39% approve of Biden’s job performance. The president’s job ratings have been largely declining since last summer, according to an aggregate of his polls compiled by FiveThirtyEight. Though Biden saw a brief rise in the polls in late February and March—around when the Ukraine conflict started—more Americans have disapproved of the president than approved of him consistently since late August 2021.

Tangent

Former President Donald Trump also faced low approval ratings throughout his presidency, including a 40% approval rating right before the 2018 midterms that Gallup found was historically low for a president going into the midterm elections. According to FiveThirtyEight, Trump had an approximately 42% approval rating at this point during his presidency, while 52% disapproved.