“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,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute. “There is political danger in pushing a message that basically tells people their take on their own situation is wrong.”
The grim findings were disclosed hours after The Washington Post published a report citing insider sources that said Biden and first lady Jill Biden have complained to aides and friends for months about the president’s “dismal” numbers in his approval ratings and polls showing him behind in a potential general election rematch against former President Donald Trump. This reportedly included “stern words” after the National Thanksgiving Turkey Pardon in which Biden pressed aides on what his team and campaign were doing about his poll numbers.
“We do not discuss the President’s private conversations one way or the other,” Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, said in a statement to the news outlet. “The President and First Lady meet regularly with their senior team for updates and to review plans.”
In addition to job performance, Biden is facing concerns about his fitness to serve a second term. Already the oldest person to be president at the age of 81, Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term. His tendency to lose his train of thought while speaking, along with moments caught on camera where he has tripped or fallen over, have spurred concerns about Biden’s ability to lead effectively within his own party.
Too much support for Israel
Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war continues to be met with majority disapproval as relatively few Americans think his administration’s actions are bringing things closer to a peaceful resolution, and a rising number of Democrats feel he’s showing too much support for Israel.
As for Mr. Biden’s approach toward any pro-Palestinian protests that take place in the U.S., most would favor no comment, and then there are relatively more who’d like him to condemn those than support them. Republicans, in particular, are the ones most looking for condemnation.
The lowest approval rating for any modern president, Poll
Biden’s sixth quarter in office, spanning April 20 – July 19, ended with an average of 40% approval during that time. No president elected to his first term has had a lower sixth-quarter average than Biden, Gallup said, dipping below Jimmy Carter in 1978 and Donald Trump in 2018, both at 42%. Barack Obama (2010), Bill Clinton (1994) and Ronald Reagan (1982) also averaged below majority approval, at 47%, 46% and 44%, respectively.
The Gallup poll was conducted between July 5-26 with 1,013 adults surveyed. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Biden snapped at a reporter, saying, “That’s stupid,” when asked last month if he was too old to run again. The commander-in-chief also told donors that he was “not sure” he would be running for re-election in 2024 if Trump wasn’t also competing. Biden then suggested that “probably 50” other Democrats could defeat Trump in his place. On Sunday, in response to a question about polls showing him trailing Trump, Biden claimed people are viewing “the wrong polls.”
NBC, CBS, /YA LIBNAN
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