Oh, Joe, how low can you go?
A new nationwide poll finds President Joe Biden’s approval rating has plunged to a new low of just 39% as inflation soars and supply-chain issues have left some shelves bare.
“Of that, 18 percent of registered voters said they strongly approve of the job he’s doing, while 21 percent say they somewhat approve. Meanwhile, 53 percent said they somewhat or strongly disapprove of his job performance,” according to the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll, which was released exclusively to The Hill.
“That number is six points down from his approval rating in November, when he was at 45 percent, while his disapproval rating ticked up from 51 percent two months ago. His 39 percent approval rating is the lowest since the poll first started gauging it in March,” the website added.
“This is a new low for President Biden as he struggles to solve a myriad of issues from the pandemic and the economy to immigration and crime that trouble the public,” pollster Mark Penn said. “These numbers should prompt a long overdue pivot from the White House, but so far, the Biden administration has doubled down on its direction.”
The poll, a collaboration of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University and the Harris Poll, surveyed 1,815 registered voters was conducted January 19 and 20.
A November poll found 96% of Americans do not think things are going “very well” in America.
That survey, conducted by CBS News/YouGov, showed deep dissatisfaction with how Biden is currently running the country — as just 4% say things are going “very well.”
Some 70% said things are going “very badly” or “somewhat badly” while 26% said things are going “somewhat well.”
And just 4% said the economy is “very good.” Some 64% said the economy is “very bad” or “fairly bad,” with just 26% saying the economy is “fairly good.”
That poll puts Biden’s job approval rating at 44%, and he got negative scores for his handling of inflation (67%), immigration (64%), the economy (61%), foreign policy (58%), and race relations (56%).
“Gas prices are a particular reason people cite for why they think the overall economy is bad — and that’s another window into how people process and measure what exactly the ‘economy’ is when asked to evaluate it, focusing at the moment on things of immediate cost and concern. About half of Americans are at least somewhat concerned about their ability to afford gas right now,” CBS said.
Although Biden pinned the problem on supply chain issues, calling it “the reason,” he also conceded that the U.S. dollar is losing buying power.
“The irony is people have more money now because of the first major piece of legislation I passed. You all got checks for $1,400. You got checks for a whole range of things,” Biden said during a speech in Baltimore. “If you’re a mom and you have kids under the age of 7, you get $300 a month and if it’s over 7 to 17, you’re getting $360 a month,” he said.
The White House later corrected that latter number to $250 per month.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent, and ran the Drudge Report from 2010 to 2015. Send tips to [email protected].