President Biden faces lagging approval ratings as he delivers his first State of the Union address Tuesday night.
Just over a year after his presidency, more than 53 percent of Americans disapprove of Mr. Biden’s work, according to the average calculated by FiveThirtyEight, a data polling site, compared to about 41 percent who approve of the work he has done.
On Tuesday, Mr. Biden will try to convince increasingly anxious Americans that he is focused on the day-to-day issues affecting their lives, such as rising commodity and gas prices, while also detailing his administration’s strategy against a Russian invasion of Ukraine. After months of focusing on sprawling legislation that remains stuck in a congressional stalemate, the latest polling data gives a glimpse of the challenge Mr. Biden faced during his Tuesday night speech — and in the months leading up to the 2022 midterm elections. of the year.
The main reasons for frustration among Americans are the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the economy.
Mr. Biden, who has championed overcoming the pandemic and unifying the country since Trump’s presidency, began his term with an approval rating above 50 percent, according to FiveThirtyEight. But after receiving praise for passing a $1.9 trillion stimulus package and introducing sweeping social spending and climate legislation, he faced foreign policy crises abroad and struggled to unite his own party at home.
Mr. Biden’s approval ratings plummeted in August following his administration’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. The emergence of the Omicron variant also prompted the administration to reinstate some pandemic restrictions, even after the White House celebrated “virus independence” on July 4.
Mr. Biden is doing a little better than his predecessor. According to FiveThirtyEight, approximately 54 percent of voters disapproved of his behavior as president at the same time during his first term.
According to the RealClear Politics average, nearly 60 percent of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy, compared to 37 percent of those who approve of his work. The President will highlight the addition of six million jobs since he took office, but will face Americans still feeling the pain of inflation.
“The big and most obvious one is inflation,” said Cornell Belcher, a Democratic pollster. “Whether it’s swing voters, independent voters, or African-American voters—our core constituency—they all point to inflation and problems with the economy.”
Dissatisfaction with the economy may also be related to the coronavirus.
More than 50 percent of the population disapproves of the administration’s response to the pandemic, according to an average RealClear Politics poll, despite its administration vaccinating nearly three-quarters of the population.
Mr. Biden will try to reassure voters that the United States is entering a new phase of the pandemic, most likely by pointing to new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that will lift mask restrictions in many parts of the country.
The president’s approval ratings also sank amid criticism from both Democrats and Republicans over the illegal crossing of the southwestern border and the haphazard withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan this summer.
In recent weeks, White House officials have said they hope to shift their voter outreach strategy by visiting more states to talk about the accomplishments of the Biden administration rather than describing the need for legislation that remains deadlocked. The administration is focused on selling the benefits of the stimulus package, as well as the bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure package passed last fall.
“In the future, I think you’ll see the White House talking to real Americans about real accomplishments,” said Bradley Bajchok, senior adviser to Democratic group American Bridge 21st Century.