After U.S. President Joe Biden’s approval ratings improved slightly this month, a new poll from Morning Consult shows the president’s ratings slipping once again – this time reaching an all-time low.
Published on Thursday, the survey found that 58% of voters disapproved of the president’s performance so far, with just 39% approving.
That’s a drop from 42% who approved of his performance last month, according to another survey conducted by Morning Consult.
Trump More Popular At Same Point In Presidency
Morning Consult researchers showed how President Joe Biden’s approval ratings are worse than former President Donald Trump’s ratings at the same time in his presidency, four years ago. At this point, former President Trump’s approval rating sat at 45% with a 52% disapproval rating, according to the same Morning Consult survey.
The current administration also doesn’t enjoy the same “shy” support effect that the former president did, in which voters were well documented to be shy about expressing their support to pollsters over the telephone over the fear of receiving backlash for their support of the president.
While the “shy” Trump voter effect was more prominent in the 2016 election, and Morning Consult argued that the effect had almost disappeared by 2020, several major national pollsters argue that the effect still came into play in 2020 – and it could still come into play in 2024, should the former president decide to run again.
Politico revealed last week that tensions are running high in the Biden White House, with the president “seething” that his approval ratings were lower than former President Donald Trump, whom he considers the worst president in history.
“The president has expressed exasperation that his poll numbers have sunk below those of Donald Trump, whom Biden routinely refers to in private as ‘the worst president’ in history and an existential threat to the nation’s democracy,” Politico reported.
Even Legacy Media Recognizes A Problem
Typically more friendly to the Biden administration, even legacy media outlets like CNN have picked up on the president’s plummeting approval ratings.
CNN reported on Tuesday how an analysis of Gallup’s polling of Biden’s job approval ratings since he was inaugurated in January 2021 shows that his numbers are “remarkably consistent.”
According to the analysis, since last August – when Biden’s job approval rating was higher than 45% – the president’s approval rating has not exceeded 43%.
“And that’s not just confirmed in Gallup polling,” CNN Editor-at-Large Chris Cillizza wrote.
“CNN has measured Biden’s approval rating twice so far in 2022. In the first poll, at the end of January and beginning of February, Biden’s job approval rating was 41%. In the second poll, in the field in late April and early May, Biden was, again, at 41%. The last time CNN had Biden at or over 50%? In October 2021, when his approval rating was right at 50%.”
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.