President Joe Biden‘s approval rating has reached its lowest point, influenced by worries about rising prices and security along the US-Mexico border, as per a recent survey.
The latest Monmouth University poll reveals that only 34% approve of Biden’s job performance, a significant drop from the 54% approval he had at the beginning of his presidency nearly three years ago.
Monmouth University poll shows Biden gets low approval rating on inflation and immigration; Americans say he isn’t paying enough attention to their concerns
Concerns about inflation and immigration have led to over two-thirds of Americans disapproving of how Biden is addressing these issues. Even among Democrats, who generally support the president’s policies, there is division on the topic of border security, Bloomberg reported.
Additionally, the survey indicates a decline in ratings for congressional leadership, with the newly appointed House speaker starting with unfavorable ratings.
“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. There is political danger in pushing a message that basically tells people their take on their own situation is wrong,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.
Only 31% of the American public believes that President Biden has been adequately addressing the issues most important to their families. A significant majority (65%) expresses a desire for him to give more attention to those concerns. Specifically, only 11% of Republicans and 25% of independents believe Biden is addressing their top issues sufficiently.
While a majority of Democrats (58%) feel he is paying the right amount of attention, a substantial minority (41%) wishes he would focus more on those concerns.
In comparison, former President Donald Trump received a relatively better evaluation on this metric in the year before the last presidential election; 41% believed Trump was giving enough attention, and 55% wished he would give more attention to their most important issues in a June 2019 poll.
A snapshot of recent ratings and policy disapproval
Since September, there has been a 4-point decrease in President Biden’s approval rating, coupled with a 6-point increase in his disapproval rating. From October 2022 to July 2023, Biden’s approval ratings fluctuated between 40% and 44%, while disapproval numbers ranged from 48% to 53%.
Approval has declined within both Democrats (74%, down from 80% in September and 88% in July) and independents (24%, down from 30% in September and 38% in July). Notably, among Republicans, the approval rate is currently at just 5%.
A majority of Americans express disapproval of President Biden’s handling of five different policy areas, reflecting a decline of one to six points compared to previous assessments by Monmouth. Specifically, just over two-thirds disapprove of his performance on immigration (69%) and inflation (68%).
