Biden’s approval dips to new low as independents sour on his leadership

As President Joe Biden heads into the end of the year, he’s facing a sour reality: The number of Americans who approve of his performance has hit a new low. Just 41 percent of Americans approve of the job he has been doing as president, according to a new PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll. Support among independents alone dropped eight points in a week.

Overall, more than half – 55 percent – of Americans disapprove of Biden’s performance, including 44 percent who strongly disapprove. His disapproval ratings have jumped 20 points since he took office, reaching a record high this month. The number who strongly disapprove jumped 6 points since a Marist poll conducted just one week earlier.

Graphic by Megan McGrew/ PBS NewsHour

Biden is likely feeling the heat over a trifecta of concerns troubling Americans this holiday season, according to Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute of Public Opinion. Those fears include rising prices as inflation nears a 40-year high, the omicron variant threatening to compound the latest surge of coronavirus cases, and Biden’s legislative agenda stalling in Congress.

Build Back Better, Biden’s signature proposal, was dealt a significant blow Sunday. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., citing concerns about the national debt and rising inflation, said he would not vote for it, which will kill the bill’s chances to pass in the evenly divided Senate.

Biden’s current level of support stands in stark contrast to what it was about six months ago when new COVID cases had dropped considerably and there was more optimism about vaccine durability and the pandemic turning a corner. The number who approve of Biden has dropped roughly 10 points since then.

“There’s lots of uncertainty out there,” Miringoff said. “He’s being hit for lack of leadership. He’s being hit for the fatigue of the pandemic and concerns about inflation.”

Disapproval of the president stretches across most demographic groups, with his level of disapproval topping 50 percent among white and non-white voters, people living in cities and in rural America, and voters in every age range except those over 74 years old.

Biden still garners strong support among Democrats, with 87 percent approving of his job performance. But even among blue voters, his disapproval rating has jumped 7 points since he took office. Republicans are similarly entrenched: 95 percent disapprove of the job Biden is doing.

Perhaps the most alarming drop for the White House and Democrats heading into the midterm election year is Biden’s support among independents. Two-thirds of independent voters disapprove of Biden, including half who strongly disapprove. Both numbers are up at least 30 points since he took office. Just 29 percent of independents approve of his job performance.

Graphic by Megan McGrew/ PBS NewsHour

“The independents were the major difference” in this poll, Miringoff said. “The one good thing [for Biden] about losing independents and not doing as well with Democrats is those are groups you can win back.”

While independent voters are critical in nearly every midterm election, it was suburban women, who make up a quarter of the electorate, who helped propel Democrats to control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 and pushed Biden to the White House in 2020. In a bright spot for Democrats as the 2022 election season begins in earnest, it seems – for now – suburban women are sticking with the president.

Among this group that Biden won with 59 percent of the vote a year ago, 57 percent currently approve of his job performance, while 41 percent disapprove.

There are still many months for the White House to turn things around ahead of the midterms. Passing legislation and holding some high-profile bill signings could give him a boost, Miringoff said.

“You don’t know what’s going to be around the corner,” he added.

PBS NewsHour, NPR and Marist Poll conducted a survey Dec. 11-13 that polled 1,400 U.S. adults (margin of error of 4.0 percentage points) and 1,310 registered voters (margin of error of 4.1 percentage points)