President Joe Biden’s approval rating has plummeted less than a year into his presidency as his administration struggles to get a handle on multiple crises.
Biden’s approval is 15 points underwater, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday. The poll, with a margin of error of 2.7 points, is based on a survey of 1,326 U.S. adults taken from October 1-4.
“Battered on trust, doubted on leadership, and challenged on overall competency, President Biden is being hammered on all sides as his approval rating continues its downward slide to a number not seen since the tough scrutiny of the Trump administration,” Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said in a statement.
Biden’s rating measured 38% approval to 53% disapproval, the worst score he’s received since taking office in January. Biden’s net disapproval has nearly doubled since the last time Quinnipiac conducted the poll putting Biden’s approval rating at 42% to 50%.
Breaking down Biden’s approval rating among issues facing the U.S., Quinnipiac found that Biden “received negative scores in the double digits on all but one key issue.” According to the poll:
the response to the coronavirus: 48 percent approve, while 50 percent disapprove;
the economy: 39 percent approve, while 55 percent disapprove;
his job as Commander in Chief of the U.S. military: 37 percent approve, while 58 percent disapprove;
taxes: 37 percent approve, while 54 percent disapprove;
foreign policy: 34 percent approve, while 58 percent disapprove;
immigration issues: 25 percent approve, while 67 percent disapprove;
the situation at the Mexican border: 23 percent approve, while 67 percent disapprove
The American people’s perception of Biden’s personal traits have also taken a beating. According to the poll:
cares about average Americans: 49 percent say yes, while 48 percent say no, compared to 58 – 37 percent yes in April;
is honest: 44 percent say yes, while 50 percent say no, compared to 51 – 42 percent yes in April;
has good leadership skills: 41 percent say yes, while 56 percent say no, compared to 52 – 44 percent yes in April.
On the Biden administration’s overall competency, Americans said that Biden is incompetent by a margin of 55% to 42%.
The poll is another bad omen for the president and other elected Democrats as midterms creep closer. Biden’s poor approval rating comes on the heels of other bad news for Democrats; $300-per-child checks from the federal government sent to parents over the summer are not having the desired effect on voters. According to Politico:
Democrats who were hoping that the monthly $300-per-child checks the federal government started sending to families over the summer would be a winner in the midterms won’t like the findings of our latest poll with Morning Consult. Fewer than half of respondents, 47%, gave congressional Democrats credit for providing the extra cash, and even fewer, 38%, credited President Joe Biden. While half of registered voters support the expanded payments (vs. 38% in opposition), only 35% want to make them permanent — an idea Democrats in Congress are weighing at the moment. The payments are set to expire next year.