Biden Approval Low on Main Issues

Since August 2021, President Joe Biden has been grappling with a significant challenge – a negative job approval rating. This trend persists, as a recent TIPP Insights poll reveals that he is underwater on all the major policy issues surveyed.

The poll, conducted May 29-31 among 1,910 U.S. adults, found that Biden’s overall job approval was 36%, while 52% disapproved of his performance in office. (The rest said they were “not familiar” or “not sure.”) Approval broke down along party lines, with 74% of Democrats approving and only 9% of Republicans approving. Crucial for the close swing state elections, only 23% of independents approved of Biden, while 59% disapproved.

These numbers represent a slight increase from his first-term low in TIPP polling in December 2023. In a recent Rasmussen poll, Biden’s job approval rating was 44%, and disapproval was 55%. This was also up from 41%-42% approval in early December Rasmussen polling. The current RealClearPolitics Average for Biden’s approval rating falls between the TIPP and Rasmussen polls, with 40.2% approval and 55.8% disapproval. These 15-16-point spreads between approval and disapproval rates in the RCP Average have been consistent since the Israel-Hamas conflict started in October 2023.

The president faces a similar negative approval rating on most issues. The TIPP poll asked respondents to rate Biden’s performance on specific issues on a grading scale, where A was “excellent,” C was “average,” and F was “unacceptable,” and for no issue did he receive more A’s and B’s than D’s and F’s.

According to the poll, his worst issue is immigration, where he received 57% D’s and F’s and only 21% A’s and B’s. Among independents, respondents disapproved more than the general population, with 60% giving D’s and F’s. The RCP Average for Biden’s job approval on immigration is similarly dim, with 33.4% approval and 62.8% disapproval.

His approval on the Israel-Hamas conflict and Ukraine-Russia war are similarly low, with only 20% rating his handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict as A or B, and only 27% giving the same rating on the Ukraine-Russia war. Support among independents was again below the average, with only 15% supporting his handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict and 18% supporting his handling of the Ukraine-Russia war. In the RCP Average, Biden does better with the Ukraine-Russia war, with 40.7% approval, than with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with 32.6% approval.

Biden’s approval rating on the economy was similarly low, with only 27% giving A or B ratings. In the RCP Average for his approval rating on the economy, he faces similar disapproval, with 39.8% approving and 58.4% disapproving, despite many economic indicators showing the economy is currently improving.