President Joe Biden’s average approval rating is now under 40%.
According to data collected by Real Clear Politics, 39.8% of Americans approve of the job Joe Biden is doing as president. Another 54.4% disapprove.
Biden has faced declining approval rates since the beginning of his presidency. He began his term with a 55.5% approval rating — a nearly 20 point advantage over his 36% disapproval rating.
His popularity steadily declined with notable slumps throughout the summer of 2021. On Aug. 23, Biden’s approval rating (47.5%) sunk below disapproval rating (47.8%) and has subsequently never recovered.
The change came the day after Biden announced to the nation his plan to evacuate thousands of Americans from Afghanistan would be “hard and painful.”
Islamic terror organization the Taliban took control of the nation’s capital Kabul on Aug. 15, 2021.
Days later, it was confirmed that an ISIS-affiliated suicide bomber had attacked the Kabul airport and caused over 70 deaths. Among the fatalities were 13 United States military members.
Biden expressed his sorrow for the slain troops in a statement on Aug. 26, when he suggested former President Trump was responsible for the botched military withdrawal.
“They were heroes,” Biden said. “Heroes who’ve been engaged in a dangerous, selfless mission to save the lives of others.”
“I bear responsibility for fundamentally all that’s happened of late,” he said. “But here’s the deal … you know as well as I do that the former president made a deal with the Taliban.”
Additionally, Biden’s average disapproval rating surpassed his approval rating on the day the Food and Drug Administration gave full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. It was the same day he tweeted Afghans who once worked with American forces would be given refugee status and residency in the United States. He urged private companies on Aug. 23, 2021 to adopt vaccine requirements for their employees.
Biden's approval rating made a slight recovery in the fall, reaching 46.3% on Sept. 21. His disapproval rating still dominated, recorded at 50% on the same day.
Real Clear Politics determined the average approval rating by taking the average of over 400 political polls conducted between Jan. 19 and Feb. 8. Polls include YouGov, Rasmussen, Politico, Fox News, CNN, Reuters, Quinnipiac, and Gallup.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this article mistakenly claimed that ISIS — not the Taliban — had taken control of Kabul.
