President Biden’s falling approval rating has hit somewhat of a floor with Republican and independent voters, but continues a descent among voters in his own party. It may be a situation where Democrats are disgusted that he hasn’t achieved what he said he would achieve or perhaps they’ve just watched as the Biden administration limps from one crisis to another whether it’s Afghanistan, Covid, or crippling inflation crushing the economy and driving up prices on household essentials.
However you slice it, Biden is in a tough spot and has been souring for multiple months now to the point where some of the negativity seems to be baked in quite firmly. It wasn’t a shock to see Republicans and independents shy away, but to see Democrats still falling puts Biden’s approval numbers on shaky ground:
The October IBD/TIPP Poll finds that 44% of adults approve of how President Biden is handling his job, unchanged from September. Disapproval of Biden’s job performance eased to 40%, after reaching 43% the prior month. The early August IBD/TIPP Poll showed Biden still enjoying relatively broad approval, 52%-34%.
Independents now disapprove of Biden’s job performance by 45%-32%, a modest improvement over September’s 50%-33% disapproval. In August, Biden enjoyed a 42%-33% job approval among independents.
Among Democrats, Biden’s job approval slipped to 75%-11% in October from 79%-9% in September and 83%-6% in August.
From August to October, an 8-point drop among Democrats is sending alarm bells through the headquarters of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. If Biden continues a slide within his own constituents, it will only serve to suppress his voters in 2022 and let Republicans win more seats with a more energized voting base.
This phenomenon is cyclical, for the most part, since the party that wins the White House is often burned out by the time 2022 rolls around and less enthusiastic to vote or work to keep their party in power. The opposing party, however, is chomping and ready to vote against the President, from the opposite party.
Biden’s overall approval is bad, but not horrible. However, when you dig deeper down to individual issues, there is nowhere he’s close to being above the water on practically anything that matters to voters:
Just 30% of American adults rate Biden’s handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan as good or excellent, while 48% say it was poor or unacceptable.
Yet, Biden’s deteriorating job approval also reflects troubles on the home front.
Biden’s approval rating on his handling of the economy remains underwater: 40% give him negative marks and 35% say he deserves a good grade, little changed from September’s 41%-37% split. Biden has seen a sharp reversal since August, when Americans approved of his economic stewardship, 48%-30%.
Among Democrats, 62% rate Biden’s handling of the economy as good or better, while 12% see it as poor or worse. His standing continued to slip from 69%-10% in September and 77%-3% in August.
As the latest Covid wave fueled by the delta variant has begun to subside, approval of Biden’s handling of the pandemic has firmed, with 45% giving him good grades and 32% failing marks. That compares to 46%-35% in September and 53%-28% in August.
From the economy to Covid, two areas where Biden has held generally stronger approval than Republicans, the support is falling away. It’s not hard to see why views on Biden’s economic policies are faltering, just visit your local gas station and try to buy some bacon. The Biden administration has been quick to blame meat producers and practically anything besides its own policies, but the criticism falls flat.
Make no mistake, Biden inflation is here and it’s real, and many economists are worried about it over the next several months.
On the Covid front, Americans were promised a lot in the Spring, with Biden pledging to hit his July goal of a free and open summer with easing restrictions. Then the Delta variant hit, and Americans were told to put masks back on and go back to life under restrictions again. Some listened, fewer are listening now, but that doesn’t mean they don’t notice how bad the messaging has been from Biden on vaccinations, boosters, and Covid policy in general.
