Politics
August 25, 2022
Biden's Job Rating Rises to 44%, Highest in a Year
by Megan Brenan
Story Highlights
Biden's 44% approval rating is up six points from July's record low
Rise in job approval rating is largely owed to independents
Biden's pandemic response is only issue of 11 with majority approval
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- After hitting a record low in July, President Joe Biden's job approval rating is up six percentage points to 44%, his highest in a year. While this uptick represents a significant improvement on the heels of several policy successes for Biden, he still remains underwater overall, with 53% of Americans disapproving of his job performance.
The increase in Biden's job rating is largely buoyed by political independents, whose approval rose from 31% last month to the current 40%. Democrats' (81%) and Republicans' (4%) ratings of Biden are not significantly changed over the same period.
These findings are from an Aug. 1-23 Gallup poll, which spanned an eventful period in Biden's presidency. While recovering from COVID-19, the president announced the U.S. had killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri. In the days following, congressional Democrats passed Biden's sweeping domestic spending plan, the Inflation Reduction Act, a healthcare, climate and tax package.
Although high inflation and recession fears continue to plague the nation, there has been some recent positive economic news with average gas prices falling below $4 per gallon, a better-than-expected jobs report and a slight decline in the inflation rate. The poll was completed just before Biden announced his student loan forgiveness plan that would cut debt for millions of Americans.
Biden Rated Best for Handling COVID-19 Response, Environment
Bottom Line
Biden, whose approval rating was slumping prior to August, appears to be benefiting from recent wins as well as a slightly improved economy. A Gallup analysis of key election indicators in June suggested that the U.S. political environment was particularly unfavorable for Democrats. Biden's job approval remains below the 50% mark, which usually spells a difficult midterm election year for the incumbent president's party -- but if Biden can keep this momentum going, it could positively impact congressional Democrats' chances in November.
Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Aug. 1-23, 2022, with a random sample of 1,006 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.
Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 75% cellphone respondents and 25% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.
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https://news.gallup.com/poll/398117/biden-job-rating-rises-highest-year.aspx
