Topline
American approval of President Joe Biden’s job performance has dropped to the lowest level in his presidency, according to an Ipsos poll, which highlighted growing discontent with his handling of key issues like the Covid-19 pandemic, employment and trying to unify the country.
Joe Biden’s approval ratings are at their lowest level in his presidency, Ipsos found.
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Key Facts
Only 44% of Americans approve of Biden’s performance as president, according to Ipsos’ poll of 1,005 Americans conducted between September 15-16.
It’s the lowest approval rating in his presidency and a six-point drop from polling in early August.
Overall disapproval (50%) is also at an all time high and approval of Biden’s handling of most major issues is down from August, Ipsos found.
This was especially true for the pandemic—which 38% said they wanted Biden to prioritize—where approval fell six-points to 48% compared to early August.
Fewer than half of Americans approve of Biden’s handling of key issues, including the environment (49%), racial inequality (45%), employment and jobs (45%) and immigration (38%).
Biden’s efforts to unify the country have also taken a hit, falling to 40%, a six-point decrease in approval since August.
Tangent
As expected with presidential polls, overall ratings obscure partisan differences. Some 81% of Democrats approved of Biden’s job performance, for example, a view shared by just 33% of Independents and 11% of Republicans. On specific issues, just 20% of Republicans approved of Biden’s performance—the environment (20%), the pandemic (19%) and racial inequality (16%) were the only ones to score above 15%—and no fewer than 56% (for corruption) of Democrats approved on any issue.
Key Background
The poll is in line with increasingly negative reviews of the president’s performance as the country continues to battle a wave of Covid-19 and consequences unfold after the collapse of the American-supported regime in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of troops. Gallup polling showed Biden’s approval rating to be sliding in line with these events and an AP-NORC poll showed it had fallen to 54%, the lowest level in his presidency from the pollster, with increasing dissatisfaction with his handling of the pandemic. Beyond approval, polling indicates fewer Americans than ever before believe Biden to have a plan to deal with the Covid-19 crisis following the reintroduction of restrictions in an attempt to manage the delta variant.
Further Reading
Fewer Americans Than Ever Think Biden Has A Clear Plan To Fight Covid, Poll Finds (Forbes)
Biden’s Approval Rating Dips To Lowest Level Of Presidency In AP-NORC Poll (Forbes)
