Biden’s approval poll sinks below Trump

Approval ratings make public’s perceptions of ruling party in Washington clear

President Joe Biden’s approval ratings hit a new low on Monday and touched 39.7 per cent, worse than his predecessor Donald Trump’s ratings at this point in 2018, according to a new poll.

The poll conducted by fivethirytyeight has found that after 510 days in office, the president faces a disproval rating of 53.7 per cent.

In comparison, on the 510th day of his presidency in 2018, Mr Trump had an approval rating of 41.8 per cent and a disproval rating of 51.7 per cent.

Former president Barack Obama, on the other hand, had an approval rating of 47.6 per cent and a siproval rating of 45.5 per cent at the same point of his presidency, the poll revealed.

Approval ratings for presidents can help in understanding how the public feels about the ruling party in Washington DC.

Mr Biden’s window of opportunity to boost his standing ahead of the midterm elections due in November is quickly closing.

These trends suggest that voters in most cases have made up their minds by February, reported Axios. So, late developments like the draft Supreme Court ruling on overturning Roe v Wade or the ongoing hearings by the January 6 committee may not influence voters.

Last month, the president’s approval rating dipped to the lowest point of his presidency, with only 39 per cent of adults approving of his performance, according to the The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Research.

The president has been facing sinking approval ratings for successive months, and fears have grown in his inner circle that his term may end up being like Jimmy Carter’s – the last Democrat president to have served only a single term in office.

Mr Biden’s sagging approval ratings appear to have made the president and his aides feel “either limited or helpless” to “combat the forces pummelling them”, which include inflation, rising gas and diesel fuel prices, a rash of mass shootings that Congress appears unwilling to address, and Russia’s continuing war in Ukraine, according to Politico.