First Lady Jill Biden hit her lowest approval level since President Joe Biden took office, dropping 24 points from last year, according to a new poll.
In a survey for CNN by SSRS released Monday, a random sample of 1,459 adults were asked for their “overall opinion of some people and groups in the news.” For each person named, they were to say whether they had a “favorable or unfavorable opinion of these people or groups” or if they “have never heard of them.”
When Jill Biden’s name came up, 34% of those polled had a favorable opinion while 29% had an unfavorable one. Another 37% said they were unsure. FLOTUS’ likeability dropped 24 percentage points since January 2021, when her likeability was at 58%.
"Meanwhile, the public’s view of first lady Jill Biden is mixed: 34% have a favorable opinion, 29% unfavorable and 37% are unsure how they feel about her." https://t.co/a8sISoXv39
— Katie Rogers (@katierogers) July 18, 2022
The drop in her poll numbers comes on the heels of the first lady comparing Hispanic Americans to breakfast tacos during a “Latinx” luncheon speech. She has since issued an apology to the Latino community.
During her speech, Biden said at the “Latinx IncluXion Luncheon” that the diversity of the Hispanic community was “as distinct as the bodegas of the Bronx, as beautiful as the blossoms of Miami, and as unique as the breakfast tacos here in San Antonio.”
Following the backlash, Michael LaRosa, press secretary to the first lady and special assistant to the president, tweeted that “the First Lady apologizes that her words conveyed anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community.”
The First Lady apologizes that her words conveyed anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community.
— Michael LaRosa (@MichaelLaRosa46) July 12, 2022
In the survey, those polled also had an overall unfavorable opinion about the president and Vice President Kamala Harris. Biden’s likability has gone from its high a year ago at 59% to 36% in the current poll. Harris’s favorability has dropped 19 percentage points to 32% from 51% when the poll was conducted in 2021.
When asked if they “approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president,” the survey found that 62% of those polled disapproved, while 38% approved.
The poll was conducted via mail or phone between June 13 and July 13. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.