Latest Polls Are Not Good News for Biden

His approval rating has hit its lowest point since he took office
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 23, 2021 2:30 AM CDT
Updated Aug 23, 2021 6:02 AM CDT
Polls Show Biden's Approval Rating Falling
President Joe Biden speaks about the situation in Afghanistan in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Two new polls show President Biden's approval rating declining as COVID surges and bad news related to Afghanistan abounds:

  • NBC News: The poll found Biden's approval rating hit 49%, the first time it has dipped below 50%, and his disapproval rating hit 48%. In April, NBC's polling had him at 53% approval. However, between April and August his approval rating among Democrats only slipped from 90% to 88%.
  • CBS News: The poll also found Biden's approval rating has hit a low point, though it has approval and disapproval evenly matched at 50% each. In July, approval was 58% and disapproval 42%; in March, those numbers were 62% and 38%, respectively.

RealClearPolitics' poll average currently has Biden's approval rating at 48.2%, while FiveThirtyEight's average has him sitting at 49.4%. Some specific findings from NBC and CBS:

  • Afghanistan: 44% of CBS respondents think the US withdrawal went "very badly," and another 30% think it went "somewhat badly." While 63% agree with the idea of removing US troops from the country, just 47% are on board with how Biden handled it. Nearly 60% say the US is not doing enough to help Afghans who want to leave Afghanistan, and 60% fear an increase in the terrorism threat to the US due to the Taliban takeover.
  • COVID: Among NBC respondents, 53% approve with Biden's handling of the pandemic, 16 points lower than April's numbers. Just 37% think the worst is over, while 42% believe it's still to come.
  • Economy: Forty-seven percent of NBC respondents approve of Biden's handling of the economy, and only 24% described the current state of the economy as good. While 44% said they were mostly hopeful about the future of the US, 54% described themselves as mostly pessimistic.
(More President Biden stories.)

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