New poll shows Biden and Trump neck-and-neck in rematch

President Biden’s approval rating continues to take a hit

A new poll shows President Joe Biden in a virtual tie with former president Donald Trump in a hypothetical rematch, with the current president’s approval rating stuck at a stubbornly low level.

A poll by the Wall Street Journal found that 41 per cent of voters approve of the job Mr Biden is doing, with 19 per cent strongly approving. Another 22 per cent somewhat approve of his job performance. Conversely, 57 per cent disapprove of his performance, with 10 per cent somewhat disapproving and 47 per cent strongly disapproving.

More alarmingly for Mr Biden, he’s virtually tied with the man he beat last year. While 46 per cent of voters would vote for Mr Biden if the election were hypothetically held today, 45 per cent would vote for Mr Trump, according to the poll.

The poll also spells bad news for Democrats with less than a year until the 2022 midterm elections. Only 35 per cent of those polled think that Democrats in Congress are better suited to rebuild the economy, compared with 46 per cent who think Republicans are. Similarly, 44 per cent think that Republicans are better suited to get inflation under control, compared to 26 per cent who think Democrats are.

One bright spot for Democrats is 39 per cent of voters think that congressional Democrats are better suited to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure compared to 32 percent who think congressional Republicans are. The poll found that 41 per cent of voters think Republicans in Congress are better equipped to fix the immigration system and 52 per cent think they are better-suited to secure the US-Mexico border.

That gives Republicans the advantage since 13 per cent of those polled want Washington to make immigration a top priority, while 11 per cent want the economy to be a top issue and 10 percent want inflation to be a top priority.

Similarly, when asked what is the cause of inflation, 39 per cent said the Biden administration’s policies were to blame, compared to 24 per cent who said supply chain problems, 17 per cent who said pent-up demand from the pandemic and another 17 per cent who said it was because of corporations unnecessarily raising prices.

Americans are also split on the White House’s mandate which requires companies that employ 100 or more people to require either vaccinations or regular testing for Covid-19, with 50 per cent said they favour it and 47 per cent said they oppose it.