Biden Approval Rating Drops To New Record Low

US president Joe Biden’s approval ratings have plunged to a new low this week, mirroring the ratings received by his predecessor Donald Trump at the same point during his presidency, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll has shown.

The poll found 54 per cent of respondents disapprove of Mr Biden’s performance as president.

The poll was conducted online between 21 and 22 March and gathered responses from a total 1,005 people, including 432 Democrats and 366 Republicans.

Mr Trump’s approval rating was at 40 per cent in mid-March in his second year in office as well.

The former president’s approval rating later slumped to a low of 33 per cent in December 2017.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll found respondents listed the economy as their top concern, followed by war and foreign conflicts.

The polls come as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last month highlighted Mr Biden’s handling of international conflicts as well as high inflation at home along with surging gas prices.

In terms of the president’s party-wise approval, 77 per cent of self-identified Democrats said they approved of his job performance, while only 10 per cent of self-identified Republicans and 27 per cent of independents gave him a positive rating.

Last week, a survey from Yahoo News/YouGov revealed Mr Biden’s job performance was supported by 41 per cent of the respondents while 53 per cent disapproved of his handling of the presidency.

Another poll from last week, conducted by The Wall Street Journal, found nearly half of those surveyed believed Mr Biden would not seek re-election in 2024.

The president’s plunging approval ratings come as Democrats struggle to retain control of the Congress ahead of the 8 November elections.

The party holds a thin majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Mr Biden’s popularity began to drop in mid-August last year as the country’s Covid-19 deaths began to rise and the US faced criticism over its chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan.