Biden approval rating dips to lowest point in latest CBS News poll
President Biden’s popularity dropped to its lowest point yet in a CBS News/YouGov poll out Sunday — with just 42% of Americans approving of Biden’s performance while 58 percent disapprove.
Biden’s approval rating is low across the board, including among demographic groups that generally support Democrats, including racial minorities and young people.
People under age 30 gave Biden a resounding thumbs-down, with 57 percent saying they disapprove and just 43 percent saying they approve of the president’s performance.
A 54 percent majority of Hispanics and 33 percent of African Americans said they disapprove of Biden — and 22 percent of people who voted for Biden in 2020 also disapprove.
The results of the early April survey reflect a sour national mood as inflation and illegal immigration hit four-decade highs — with even greater increases expected — as COVID-19-related restrictions drag on and violent crime remains elevated.
About 69 percent of respondents disapproved of Biden’s handling of inflation, which hit an annual rate of 7.9 percent in February. Even among Democrats, 41 percent disapproved of how Biden is addressing inflation.
The CBS poll surveyed US residents, rather than registered voters or likely voters, making it difficult to determine the precise impact on the November midterm elections, which Republicans are favored to win.
The overall results reflect a slight but statistically insignificant drop in Biden’s approval rating. CBS found 43 percent approval for Biden in February and March — but the prior results are within the latest poll‘s 2.8 percentage-point margin of error.
Biden won more votes than any other presidential candidate in history less than two years ago — as mail-in pandemic voting and a tight race drove a spike in voter participation. But his approval rating collapsed less than a year into office during the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Although the Afghanistan pullout was in principle broadly supported, it was marred by a desperate rush of US citizens and Afghans to Kabul’s airport after the US-backed Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, fled — allegedly with a large amount of cash. Thirteen US troops died in a terrorist attack on Kabul’s airport.
The CBS results are consistent with other recent polls. The RealClearPolitics average finds Biden’s approval rating at 41.4 percent — only slightly higher than his all-time-low 39.8 percent average approval rating in early February.
Biden’s dismal approval rating could add to Democratic woes in the midterm elections. A president’s party is heavily disfavored to win midterm elections. However, Senate elections are highly dependent on the qualities of a party’s nominee and which states are picking a senator that year. In 2018, Republicans were able to gain two Senate seats and retain control of the upper chamber, despite losing the House. Donald Trump’s average approval rating was 43.5 percent on Election Day 2018.
