Biden’s Average Approval Rating Drops to New Low amid Inflation, Immigration Worries
Caroline Downey, National Review
Mon, October 25, 2021, 8:15 AM
Amid growing public concerns over inflation and immigration, President Biden’s average job approval rating has slumped to a new low.
As of late October, 43.4 percent of Americans approve of Biden’s job performance while 50.7 percent disapprove, according to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average. A Trafalgar poll conducted October 19-21 came up with the bleakest number for Biden, with just 39 percent of respondents approving of his performance. Fox News, meanwhile, placed the president at a more optimistic 46 percent in its poll conducted October 16-19.
The ongoing theme of the majority of the polls is anxiety over economic problems plaguing the country and Biden’s perceived inability to address them. Amid the supply chain crisis, marked by production bottlenecks, extreme transportation delays, and limited inventories and empty store shelves, as well as steep price hikes in consumer commodities, many Americans are growing nervous with the economic state of the union, polls suggest. While policy priorities for the average voter ebb and flow through election cycles, the latest polls suggest a reversion back to economic reflexes.
According to a CBS News Poll from October 6-8, 60 percent of citizens believe the Biden administration is not focusing enough on inflation and 53 percent believe the Biden administration is not focusing enough on the economy and jobs. As for causes of inflation, most respondents attributed it to a combination of U.S. government policy, high consumer demand after the pandemic, and supply and manufacturing issues.
Opinion is mixed over whether the pending Biden’s social spending spree will fuel inflationary pressures. While 41 percent of Americans say the reconciliation package will help the national economy, 46 percent say it will exacerbate inflation.
On the other hand, 53 percent of Americans say they agree with the original infrastructure proposal, yet 53 percent also say they disagree with how Biden is handling the issue of infrastructure, according to the CBS poll.
In the wake of the migrant fiasco in Del Rio, Texas, which saw over ten thousand Haitians flood the border, overwhelming agents and personnel, 66 percent of Americans are not happy with Biden’s conduct of immigration.
The data suggests that independents, and also Hispanics, are driving the autumn of discontent for Biden, with 56 percent of independents reporting that they believe the country is worse off today than it was a year ago, according to the most recent Quinnipiac poll.
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