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A NATIONAL EYE-OPENING ON JOE BIDEN. Just one month ago, President Biden’s job approval rating, 52.5 percent, was nine points higher than his disapproval rating, 43.5 percent, in the RealClearPolitics average of polls. Now, the two are virtually dead even, and two new surveys have shown Biden underwater, with a higher disapproval rating than approval rating.
Of course Biden’s disastrous handling of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan is the leading cause of his decline. But public approval of Biden’s handling of everything else is going down, too. There appears to be a sort of national eye-opening on the president seven months into his time in the White House.
First, Afghanistan. In a new NBC News poll, 25 percent of those surveyed approve of Biden’s handling of the withdrawal, while 60 percent disapprove. Twenty-five percent! That is truly awful for a president — down there in Richard Nixon or George W. Bush-and-Iraq territory.
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But look at other issues. In the same poll in April, 69 percent approved of Biden’s handling of the Covid epidemic, while just 27 percent disapproved. Now, 53 percent approve and 44 percent disapprove.
On the economy, in April, 52 percent approved of Biden’s handling, versus 43 percent who disapproved. Now, Biden has slipped underwater, with 47 percent approving of his handling of the economy versus 49 percent disapproving.
Then throw in the number of Americans who believe the country is on the wrong track. In April, it was 56 percent. Now, it’s 63 percent.
All this has led voters to take another look at…Republicans. The NBC pollsters asked, “What is your preference for the outcome of next year’s congressional elections — a Congress controlled by Republicans or a Congress controlled by Democrats? The result was a virtual tie — 46 percent preferred Republicans, while 47 percent preferred Democrats. But the 46 number was up from 42 percent in April, while the Democratic number was unchanged. The GOP’s 46 percent was also the highest since the summer of 2016, and only the second time GOP preference has hit 46 percent in the last decade.
“The political environment is moving toward Republicans,” reads a headline from CNN analyst Harry Enten. Looking at the results of state special elections around the country, Enten notes that a “trend…is becoming noticeable. Republicans are doing better than they were in the beginning of the year, and it could foretell their party’s success in 2022.” Plus, in a midterm election, a president’s job approval rating is a key factor in how well his party does at the polls.
So of course the debacle in Afghanistan is taking its toll on Joe Biden’s approval ratings. But declining public approval of Biden’s performance overall is taking its toll not only on him but on his party as well. Of course, things could always change. But right now, things are moving in a Republican direction.
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