Most Americans don’t approve of Biden’s job in office, new poll finds

President is approaching historic levels of popular disapproval

It is common for presidents’ approval ratings to begin to slump during the middle of their terms in office, but a new poll suggests Joe Biden’s support across the country is cratering at significant levels.

Nearly six in 10 Americans don’t approve of the job he’s doing, according to a new CNN poll.

The survey, conducted in January and February, found that just 41 per cent of Americans approve of the president’s job performance, while 58 disapprove, all but the lowest approval ratings of Mr Biden’s presidential career.

Unsurprisingly, support broke down along partisan lines, with 83 per cent of Democrats approving of Mr Biden’s efforts, while only 9 per cent of Republicans did.

Perhaps even more glaring was that more than half the respondents couldn’t think of a single positive thing the president had done so far in his time in office. One respondent said: “I’m hard pressed to think of a single thing he has done that benefits the country.”

The approval ratings bring Mr Biden towards territory occupied by his historically unpopular predecessor. Donald Trump was at times in his presidency facing a country where two-thirds of people disapproved of his job performance.

Recent presidents of both parties like Barack Obama and George W Bush never saw their approvals sink this low, according to historical polling data compiled by FiveThirtyEight.

The dearth of support could mean a grim set of 2022 midterms for the Democrats. If history is any guide, the president’s party usually loses seats in Congress during midterms, which occurred in the 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 midterms.

Mr Biden was riding high on early support, bringing a sense of calm back to the White House, and passing a popular $1.9 trillion economic aid package, including $1,400 stimulus checks for most households.

However, a combination of a resurgent coronavirus, the resulting economic inflation, a chaotic withdrawal from an already unpopular Afghanistan war, and a failure to pass a large-scale social spending package this fall may have all eroded Mr Biden’s support.

Recapturing this support will be crucial if the president intends to follow through on his stated plans to seek re-election in 2024.