A new poll has shown that just 34% of Americans approve of the US president’s performance
FILE PHOTO © AP / Andrew Harnik
Only three out of ten Americans believe that US President Joe Biden is paying adequate attention to the issues that concern them most, while a record low of 34% approves of his overall job performance, a new survey has revealed.
The Monmouth University poll released on Monday showed that Biden’s approval rating has dropped ten percentage points in the past five months and is at its lowest level since he was sworn in as president. The percentage of US adults who disapprove of his performance has more than doubled since he took office in January 2021, to 61%.
The latest polling results come at a time when Biden is falling behind former President Donald Trump in his bid to win reelection in 2024, as voters are increasingly concerned over inflation and an illegal immigration crisis. Just 31% of Americans believe Biden is paying enough attention to the most pressing issues, compared with 65% who say he’s not doing enough, the Monmouth survey showed.
Only 26% of US adults approve of Biden’s immigration policies, while 28% think he is doing an adequate job handling inflation. When asked about the state of their own finances, 44% of respondents said they were struggling, double the percentage recorded during Trump’s presidency. Only 12% said their financial situation was improving.
Monmouth’s polling director, Patrick Murray, noted that Biden was touting improvements in economic statistics under his watch at a time when most Americans were still suffering from post-pandemic inflation.
“There is a political danger in pushing a message that basically tells people their take on their own situation is wrong,” said Murray.
Vice President Kamala Harris has a similarly low approval rating, at 35%, while that of the US Congress was at just 17%, down from 26% a year ago, the poll showed.
Only one in five Americans believed the country was heading in the “right direction,” versus 69% who said it’s on the “wrong track,” the survey found. The portion of respondents saying the nation was going in the right direction has dropped eight percentage points in the past year.
Even some prominent Democrats have raised questions about whether Biden should seek reelection amid troubling poll results. David Axelrod, chief political strategist for former President Barack Obama’s election campaigns, said last month that Biden should consider dropping out of the 2024 race.
