Biden’s Approval Rating Lingers at 40% As US Economy Remains Top Worry
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – US President Joe Biden’s public approval rating held steady at 40 percent in early July, close to the lowest levels of his presidency, as economic worries continued to trouble Americans, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll this week.
The three-day online poll, which asked Americans, “Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president?” and ended on Monday, showed a marginal decrease from his 41 percent approval rating a month earlier, within the survey’s three percentage-point margin of error.
The largest number of respondents – 21 percent – cited the economy as their top concern, followed by 15 percent who cited crime or corruption.
The White House in recent weeks has kicked off a series of events aimed at lifting Americans’ dour mood about the economy, touting what it calls the Democratic president’s “Bidenomics” agenda.
Biden’s rating is identical to his Republican predecessor Donald Trump’s 41 percent approval at this point in his presidency, a relatively low number compared to their immediate predecessors, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican George W. Bush.
Respondents were evenly split in their views of the Supreme Court’s decision in June to strike down Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, with 49 percent supporting the decision and 48 percent opposed.
A majority – 60 percent – said they supported the court’s move to end the use of affirmative action in college admissions.
Some 70 percent of respondents said they would support term limits for Supreme Court justices, including 85 percent of Democrats and 56 percent of Republicans.
The poll was conducted following the high court’s term, which saw the court strike down college affirmative action programs, as well as Biden’s student debt plan.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online, in English, and collected responses from 1,028 adults, using a nationally representative sample.