Poll after poll has revealed that the majority of the American people do not approve of the job President Biden is doing as president, and the latest data from Gallup indicated that the president is declining “significantly” in terms of key positive character traits like leadership, government management, and good judgment during times of crisis. The poll released Tuesday noted that Biden has declined by an average of eight percentage points in categories that many would say are needed to form the character of a good president.
According to the poll, 60% of Americans still believe that Biden is “likable,” but even that number has declined six percentage points since the poll was first taken in September 2020, well before he took office. Additionally, only 48% of Americans responded that Biden “cares about the needs of people like you,” after a majority of 55% felt that way in 2020.
In terms of honesty and trustworthiness, again, Biden has declined seven percentage points. Where Biden really takes the cake is the percentage of respondents who said he can “manage the government effectively.” Just 38% of Americans agreed with that statement, down from 52% when previously asked. That decrease is compounded by the fact that only 43% now say Biden displays “good judgment in a crisis,” and only 37% believe that he is a “strong and decisive leader.”
Gallup also noted that the majority of these increases occurred amongst independents and Democrats:
- Independents’ assessments of Biden’s positive qualities ranged from 45% to 66% in 2020, and majorities thought Biden embodied four of the six characteristics measured. These ratings are now significantly lower — between 30% and 59% — with just likability and intelligence at the majority level.
- Between 74% and 91% of Democrats currently say Biden embodies each of the seven traits. From 2020 to 2022, Democrats’ perceptions of three of Biden’s traits fell significantly — effective government management (-19 points), strong leadership (-12 points) and caring (-8 points). Views of the other three qualities from 2020 remain roughly the same, and 91% now say Biden is intelligent.
According to the 64-year-old polling company, there has typically been “a reciprocal relationship between presidential job approval ratings and personal qualities.”
“That is, elevated approval ratings have typically been accompanied by positive opinions of a president’s personal characteristics,” the company observed. “As Biden enters his second year in office with a relatively low approval rating, views of his personality traits are also mostly middling.”
On Wednesday, The Daily Wire reported that four major polls, including Gallup, found that Biden’s disapproval rating has risen steadily over his first year in office. In each poll, at least 53% of the country “disapproved” of the overall job the 46th president is doing.
In one poll, when asked, “Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president?” just 41% of respondents stated that they approve of job performance. That figure is down 18 points since last April.
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