[ad_1]
President Joe Biden’s approval rating is showing the “first signs of a meaningful decline” as the “honeymoon period” appears to be over, according to the latest Gallup opinion poll.
Biden’s latest job approval rating plunged six percentage points to 50%, a new low, down from 56% in June. The latest survey consisted of 1,007 US adults between July 6-21. “Before this month, his ratings had not shown meaningful variation during his time in office, and the current figure marks the lowest measured for him to date,” Gallup said.
The lower rating comes as vaccination rates have hit a wall, the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant, and concerns about rapid inflation, exploding wealth inequality, and millions of people unemployed.
The poll found 45% of respondents disapprove of Biden’s performance, and 5% had no opinion.
Gallup expands more on why the president’s approval ratings are in decline:
It comes at a time when U.S. progress in fighting the coronavirus has stalled, with vaccination rates slowing and case levels now rising. The economic recovery continues, with unemployment declining and stock market values near record highs. But consumers are paying higher prices for gas and other goods. Biden has also struggled to deliver on his promise of greater bipartisanship, although negotiations on an infrastructure bill continue in the Senate.
By political party, about 12% of Republicans give Biden a positive job approval rating compared to 90% of Democrats and 48% of independents.
Despite the slump in support, Biden remains in positive territory, and “it’s common for presidents to see about a 3-point decrease in their average job approval ratings between their first and second quarters,” Gallup said.
Biden’s first-quarter job approval rating averaged 56%.
His second-quarter average approval rating was 53.3%, higher than former President Bill Clinton (44%) and former President Donald Trump (38.8%). But below former President Barack Obama (62%) and former President George W. Bush (55.8%).
Gallup’s bottom line on Biden falling approval rating:
Biden’s approval rating is showing the first signs of meaningful decline. If the lower ratings persist, it could indicate his “honeymoon” period is over. Because Republicans have been unlikely to support him from the beginning of his presidency, changes in his approval are likely to come from Democrats’ and independents’ evaluations of him. That is what has occurred now, with both groups slightly less positive toward Biden than they have been to this point. Still, he maintains very high approval among Democrats, and his rating among independents remains higher than his immediate predecessor Trump ever received from that group.
Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan and trillions of dollars in stimuli pumped into financial markets and the economy, along with continued supply chain disruptions, is causing the administration to publicly address inflation because it could be a sour topic for Democrats come 2022 midterms.
Meanwhile, another poll via ABC shows pessimism continues to accelerate against Biden and his administration.
A stunning 38% net swing toward pessimism among citizens in just weeks, per ABC poll.
Seems the Biden Inflation Spike, combined with cessation of “stimmy” checks, plus an out of control border…all suddenly put America in a very sour mood. pic.twitter.com/9E0zC5ezVZ
— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) July 25, 2021
Biden still holds high favorability ratings, but not taming inflation could result in further rating declines.
[ad_2]
Source link