President Joe Biden’s approval rating has dropped to a record low, according to a new poll released on Monday.
According to the latest Monmouth University poll, just 34 percent of Americans say that they approve of Biden's performance in the White House.
The pollsters report:Public opinion of Biden’s overall job performance currently stands at 34% approve and 61% disapprove – his lowest rating in Monmouth’s polling since he took office. Since September, his approval number has dropped 4 points and his disapproval number has increased by 6 points. Between October 2022 and July 2023, Biden’s approval rating ranged between 40% and 44% while his disapproval number registered between 48% and 53%. Presidential approval has dropped among both Democrats (74%, down from 80% in September and 88% in July) and independents (24%, down from 30% in September and 38% in July); and it currently stands at just 5% among Republicans.
A majority agreed that he is doing especially poorly on five different policy areas.
Monmouth reports, "just over 2 in 3 disapprove of the president’s performance on immigration (69%) and inflation (68%), while more than half feel the same about the way he has handled climate change (54%), jobs and unemployment (53%), and transportation and energy infrastructure (52%). While Biden’s fellow Democrats tend to approve of the job he has done in most of these areas, they are divided on his immigration efforts (50% approve and 47% disapprove). Also, while 62% of Democrats approve of how Biden has handled inflation, a sizable 35% disapprove."
“The Biden administration keeps touting their infrastructure investments and a host of positive economic indicators. Those data points may be factual, but most Americans are still smarting from higher prices caused by post-pandemic inflation. This seems to be what’s driving public opinion. There is political danger in pushing a message that basically tells people their take on their own situation is wrong,” Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in their report.
The survey found that 44 percent of respondents say they are "struggling to remain where they are financially." Just 12 percent said that their financial situation is improving and 43 percent said that they are "basically stable."
The number of Americans struggling during the Trump administration was considerably lower, ranging between 20 and 29 percent in the three years prior to the pandemic.
“There is certainly an element of partisanship in how people frame their own financial situation, which is based in part on who occupies the White House. But even a good chunk of Biden’s Democratic base wish he’d start paying more attention to their top priorities than he is now,” said Murray.
