There was a time when Joe Biden’s approval numbers were at least mixed. Yeah, his overall rating would be somewhere around 45 percent, but then you’d have him sitting at around 60 percent on COVID-19. According to media reports and the White House, this was his most significant number at that time because all other information flowed out of the coronavirus response. According to the White House, there would be a rebound after COVID-19 was finished.
This talking point was completely forgotten over the past few months. The latest NBC News poll has Biden on the rise in popularity. Aside from being at 51 percent on his handling of the coronavirus (and that’s only because it’s basically a non-issue at this point), he’s underwater in every other category.
Below are the best results.
Biden on the issues, per the new NBC News poll…
Covid handling
Approved: 51% (plus 7 starting Jan 2022).
Disapprove: 46% (-7)Handling economic issues
Approve: 33% (-8)
Disapprove: 63% (+3)Foreign policy handling
Approve: 42% (+5)
Disapprove: 51% (-3)— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) March 27, 2022
On inflation and kitchen table issues…
The income gap between cost of living and income is 62%
31%
Income rising faster than the cost of living: 6%— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) March 27, 2022
Which candidate do you prefer to be in control of Congress following November’s elections. (Among registered voters).
R+2
Republicans: 46%
Democrats: 44%— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) March 27, 2022
This 3 percent drop from January is important because it’s always necessary to compare the results of a poll with its predecessor. There are many polls that show Biden at 34% and this one at 40%, but it is what is important. All polls have different topline numbers. Biden’s lowest point was January. That was pre-State of the Union and prior to him “uniting the world” on Ukraine, a line the White House and its supporters keep trotting out.
We see Biden’s drop of 3 percent in his supposed (and was) kinder poll. Regarding Ukraine, a majority of Americans have negative confidence in the president’s ability to handle the crisis, and given the gaffe-tastic last few days on the issue, who could blame them?
Biden’s performance on issues such as inflation, immigration and the economy is no different. I find the immigration number especially interesting, given there’s a tendency for partisans to compartmentalize the crisis, blaming it on factors other than current policy. Yet, a large plurality says it is Biden’s actions or lack thereof that have led to the humanitarian crisis currently occurring on the border. Unlike in past election cycles (prior to 2016), there’s no question immigration is on the minds of Americans and will play a role in how they vote.
Again, smart people were proven wrong. Ukraine didn’t unite any of the people around Biden and there are no signs of a rebound. You can expect things to worsen.
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