President Joe Biden unquestionably had a terrible first year in office and the exceedingly poor job he has done is clearly reflected in public polling data.
Things have gotten so bad under Biden’s watch that a major polling firm, Gallup, now shows the president as being “underwater” and in negative territory approval-wise with respect to not just his overall job approval but also all of the major issues America faces, the Washington Examiner reported.
Those major issues include the economy, foreign policy, the governmental response to the coronavirus pandemic, and Biden’s handling of the current tension involving Russia and Ukraine.
Underwater on all of the major issues
The pollsters at Gallup surveyed 1,008 American adults between Feb. 1 – 17, with a margin of error of 4 percent, and found that President Biden’s overall approval rating was 41 percent, with a disapproval rating of 55 percent.
With regard to the slumping economy, wracked by soaring inflation, Biden’s approval is 37 percent and disapproval is 62 percent.
As for his disastrous foreign policy, first exemplified by the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the president’s numbers stand at 40 percent approval and 56 percent disapproval. His perceived handling of Russian aggression toward Ukraine looked even worse, as Biden had only 36 percent approval and 55 percent disapproval.
Even on his response to the coronavirus, which was always Biden’s strongest issue, he is now in negative territory, as only 47 percent approved while 52 percent disapproved.
Unfavorable analysis
The Examiner noted, somewhat humorously, that Gallup’s analysis of Biden’s declining approval sought desperately to find a silver lining and settled on the fact that the president’s numbers likely couldn’t go much lower than they already are.
“Since the honeymoon phase of his presidency, Biden has seen his support drop among all political groups. His ratings among Republicans cannot go much lower, so further declines in his approval rating depend on whether Democrats’ and independents’ evaluations of him worsen,” the pollsters said.
Where he could still face trouble, though, is with independents, as Gallup remarked, “Over the course of his presidency, Biden’s job ratings have fallen the most among independents, among whom 35 percent currently approve, compared with ratings in the high 50s to low 60s in his initial months as president.”
Russia issue may boost Biden numbers
The Examiner further noted that the only real hope for any immediate improvement in Biden’s numbers is a potentially positive “bounce” from his handling of the Russia-Ukraine standoff — though that would likely only be a short-lived distraction from the larger and longer-lasting domestic issues he has been failing on.
In that regard, the Rasmussen Approval Index for Biden showed a slight uptick in approval to 45 percent from a low of 39 percent just a few weeks ago. Likewise, the RealClearPolitics average of polls currently shows Biden’s average approval at 41.7 percent, up ever so slightly from a low of 39.8 percent about two weeks ago.
