President Biden’s job approval rating hits new low in public poll

More Americans now think President Joe Biden is doing a bad job than at any prior point in his presidency, according to a major public opinion poll released Wednesday.

Just 31% of American adults said they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, while 60% disapproved of it, the Quinnipiac University poll found.

Biden’s approval ratings among registered voters also hit a record low in the Quinnipiac poll, as just 33% percent of voters said they liked the job he was doing, and 59% disapproved.

The findings came a day after a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that the Democrat’s public approval rating had fallen to 36%, matching his record low in that survey.

In Quinnipiac’s survey, Biden got the lowest job ratings for his handling of the economy, as just 28% of respondents approved of his work in that area. That result tracks with another finding of the poll: 34% of Americans said that inflation was the most urgent issue facing the United States today.

Inflation in June rose 9.1% above a year ago, the quickest pace in more than 40 years.

Biden’s approval ratings were also underwater when respondents were asked about his handling of gun violence, foreign policy and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The only marginally bright spot came on Biden’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, where 50% of respondents approved of the work he was doing, while 43% disapproved.

The Quinnipiac poll had even worse news for Biden when it came to his intention to seek a second term in 2024.

A whopping 71% percent of respondents said they would not like to see Biden run for president that year, and just 24% percent said they wanted a second Biden term in the White House.

Many of Biden’s fellow Democrats seem ready to see him leave, according to the poll, which questioned 1,523 adults on the telephone from Thursday through Sunday, and which had a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.

A majority of Democrats, 54%, said they would not like him to seek reelection in two years, the survey found. Forty percent of Democrats said they would like to see Biden run.

That contrasts with support for Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, from Trump’s fellow Republicans.

A total of 69% percent of Republicans said they would like Trump to run to return to the White House in 2024, while 27% would not.

Among all Americans, 60% said they did not want to see Trump as the GOP nominee.

“There’s scant enthusiasm for a replay of either a Trump or Biden presidency,” said Tim Malloy, a Quinnipiac University polling analyst.

“But while Trump still holds sway on his base, President Biden is underwater when it comes to support from his own party.”

Registered voters were nearly evenly split when asked about the upcoming midterm elections, which will determine which political party holds majorities in both chambers of Congress.

A total of 45% of respondents said they wanted the Democratic Party to retain control of the House of Representatives, while 44% said they preferred Republicans to take control of that chamber.

When asked which party should control the Senate, it was a dead tie: 45% said Democrats, while the same percentage said they wanted Republicans in charge.

Democrats currently hold a majority in the Senate by virtue of two independent senators who caucus with 48 Democratic senators, and Vice President Kamala Harris, who can break tie votes in the 100-member chamber.