Biden’s approval level plunges 6 percentage points in new poll to worst-yet 50%

Biden’s approval level plunges 6 percentage points in new poll to worst-yet 50% – almost as low as Trump’s HIGHEST-ever rating of 49%

  • A new Gallup polls shows Biden’s approval rating down 6% from last month
  • At 50% approval, he is now just one point above Trump’s all-time high of 49% 
  • 90% of Democrats approve of Biden’s performance but just 12% of Republicans 
  • It comes as US progress in fighting coronavirus stalls with cases on the rise 

President Joe Biden‘s approval rating has dropped to 50 percent, the lowest level of his term, but still higher than Donald Trump‘s highest rating while in office. 

The Gallup poll released on Friday showed that Biden’s job approval rating had dropped 6 points from a month ago, the first significant change in his rating since he took office in January.

Presidents typically see some of their highest approval ratings when they enter office, but the numbers tend to slip as the honeymoon period ends and dissatisfaction mounts.

Biden’s latest number come as progress in fighting the coronavirus pandemic stalls in the US, with vaccination rates plateauing and cases once again rising sharply as the dangerous Delta variant sweeps across the nation.

The Gallup poll released on Friday showed that Biden’s job approval rating had dropped 6 percent from a month ago, the first significant change in his rating since he took office

President Joe Biden's approval rating has dropped to 50 percent, the lowest level of his term

President Joe Biden’s approval rating has dropped to 50 percent, the lowest level of his term

Second-quarter job approval averages in presidents’ first terms

  • Eisenhower: 71.5%
  • Kennedy: 76.2
  • Nixon: 62
  • Carter: 63.5
  • Reagan: 60.8
  • G.H.W. Bush: 63.8
  • Clinton: 44
  • G.W. Bush: 55.8
  • Obama: 62
  • Trump: 38.8
  • Biden 53.3

The survey conducted between July 6 and 21 also found that 45 percent of U.S. adults disapproved of Biden’s performance and 5 percent did not have an opinion.

Now at 50 percent approval, Biden is just above Trump’s record high of 49 percent, sent in February 2020 when the economy was roaring, just before the pandemic struck. 

The poll found that approval ratings for Biden are sharply divided along party lines, as has become standard for recent presidents.

Fully 90 percent of Democrats approve of Biden’s job performance, compared to just 12 percent of Republicans and 48 percent of independents.

In addition to Trump, the new poll compared Biden’s performance rating to that of other past presidents.

Biden’s average approval rating over the second quarter of his first term was 53.3 percent, lower than that of Barack Obama (62 percent), George W. Bush (55.8), as well as every president between Dwight Eisenhower and George H.W. Bush.

Clinton’s average for the same period was lower than Biden’s at 44 percent. John F. Kennedy ranked the highest in the post-war era, with an approval rating of 76.2 percent for the April to July period after first taking office.

The poll found that approval ratings for Biden are sharply divided along party lines, as has become standard for recent presidents

The poll found that approval ratings for Biden are sharply divided along party lines, as has become standard for recent presidents

‘Biden’s approval rating is showing the first signs of meaningful decline. If the lower ratings persist, it could indicate his “honeymoon” period is over,’ wrote Gallup analyst Jeffrey M. Jones.

‘Because Republicans have been unlikely to support him from the beginning of his presidency, changes in his approval are likely to come from Democrats’ and independents’ evaluations of him,’ Jones noted.

‘That is what has occurred now, with both groups slightly less positive toward Biden than they have been to this point,’ he added.

However, he pointed out that Biden still maintains very high approval among Democrats, and that his rating among independents remains higher than Trump ever received from that group. 

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