By Naveen Athrappully
President Joe Biden’s job approval rating for the 13th quarter of his presidency is the lowest of his term and is the worst among all presidents in modern history, according to a recent Gallup poll.
President Biden “averaged 38.7 percent job approval during his recently completed 13th quarter in office, which began on Jan. 20 and ended April 19. None of the other nine presidents elected to their first term since Dwight Eisenhower had a lower 13th-quarter average than Biden,” said the April 26 poll. At the same point in the presidency, former President Donald Trump had a higher approval rating of 46.8 percent, which was higher than his predecessor Barack Obama’s 45.9 percent rating.
This is President Biden’s lowest quarterly approval rating to date. The president had averaged higher than 50 percent in his first two quarters, with subsequent ratings remaining around 40 percent.
Before President Biden, the previous lowest rating was registered by President George H. W. Bush at 41.8 percent. President Eisenhower continues to rank at the top, with an approval rating of 73.2 percent. None of the presidents since then has even been able to cross the 60 percent approval level for the 13th quarter.
“Three of the four prior presidents who had 13th-quarter approval averages below 50 percent lost their reelection bids, with Obama the exception,” Gallup stated.
“Biden’s most recent quarterly average ranks 277th out of 314 presidential quarters in Gallup records dating to 1945. That puts it in the bottom 12 percent of all presidential quarters.”
Gallup noted that President Biden’s 13th quarter was filled with several key issues affecting the United States, including elevated levels of illegal crossings at the U.S. southern border and the war between Israel and Hamas.
“While macroeconomic indicators, particularly job growth, remain positive, there have been signs that inflation may be increasing again. The stock market, which hit record highs during the quarter, has faltered in recent weeks.”
With 83 percent, President Biden continues to have a high approval rating among Democrats. However, he only had a rating of 2 percent from Republicans. Rating from Independents was also weak at 33 percent.
“In this election year, when Biden is hoping U.S. voters reward him with a second term, he is needing some positive momentum to put him in a stronger position to be reelected,” Gallup said.
“However, that didn’t occur during the past three months, with Americans no more positive about how Biden is doing his job than they were in his prior quarter, or for most of the past three years.”
Other polls have also shown that Americans have ongoing concerns about President Biden in the White House. An AP/NORC poll from last month showed that only 40 percent of Democrats were “extremely” or “very confident” about President Biden’s mental capability. For President Trump, nearly 60 percent of Republicans said they have confidence in their candidate.
An April 24 poll by the Pew Research Center found that while 42 percent of voters said President Trump was a “good” or “great” president, this dropped to just 28 percent when it came to President Biden.
Trump Leading Biden
President Biden’s low approval rating comes as he lags behind President Trump in the 2024 race based on numbers from multiple polls.
An April 18 survey by Emerson College Polling found that 46 percent of voters backed President Trump, a three percentage point lead over President Biden with 43 percent support. Since the poll in early April, support for President Biden fell by two points while President Trump maintained his backing.
“Voters who think the cost of living is rising support Trump over Biden, 56 percent to 32 percent,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.
Another recent poll by McLaughlin & Associates found that 38 percent of respondents backed President Trump—a 2-point advantage over President Biden’s 36 percent.
An average of polls conducted between January and March showed that President Trump led President Biden by two to seven points in all six swing states—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
In an interview with The Epoch Times, Robert Cahaly, Trafalgar Group’s head pollster, said that President Trump’s “hidden voters” are becoming more vocal in the polls.
“The hidden Trump vote has always been there, and there’s a certain segment of Trump people who just won’t say they’re for Trump,” he said. Though the share of such pro-Trump hidden voters varies by state, “you’ve probably got three to five percent of Trump people kind of under the radar.”
At a campaign rally in Pennsylvania this month, President Trump called on President Biden for a debate “anytime, anywhere, any place.”
“We have to debate because our country is going in the wrong direction so badly. While it is a little bit typical early, we have to debate, we have to explain to the American people what the hell is going on,” he said.
President Biden recently responded that he will debate President Trump but did not give a date. His confirmation came after the White House refused to give a clear answer on the issue several times.
Multiple media outlets have requested the two candidates to engage in a debate.
“If there’s one thing Americans can agree on during this polarized time, it is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high. Amidst that backdrop, there is simply no substitute for the candidates debating with each other, and before the American people, their visions for the future of our nation,” said a joint statement from several mainstream media outlets.
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