President Biden’s approval rating continues its downward spiral, according to a new national Quinnipiac University poll.
His approval rating has sunk to 38%, with disapproval at 53%. The new, lower approval rating is down from 42% in September.
Biden received double-digit negative scores on all but one issue in the poll conducted the week of Oct. 1-4.
Tellingly, most survey respondents said that Biden and his administration are not competent to run the federal government.
“Battered on trust, doubted on leadership, and challenged on overall competency, President Biden is being hammered on all sides as his approval rating continues its downward slide to a number not seen since the tough scrutiny of the Trump administration,” said Tim Malloy, Quinnipiac University polling analyst.
During the first six months of Biden’s presidency, his approval rating hovered in the low-to-mid-50s.
However, Biden’s approval numbers began to decline in August after the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan and the latest surge of migrants illegally crossing the southern U.S. border.
They also reflect the quick rise of COVID cases over the summer, along with vaccine mandates for federal employees.
According to the Quinnipiac University survey, Biden registered a 48% approval rating of his administration’s handling of the pandemic, 39% approval on handling the economy, 34% approval on foreign policy, and 23% on dealing with the crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Participants in the survey were asked about the president’s traits as well.
Only 44% believe Biden is honest, while half disagreed. Forty-one percent said that Biden has good leadership skills, while 55% said he and his administration are not competent in running the government.
Midterm barometer
The presidential approval rating has been a much-watched barometer of the president’s clout, as well as how well his party may perform in the upcoming midterm elections.
Democrats face a tough battle in their push to defend their razor-thin majorities in the Senate and House in 2022’s midterm elections.
Trump faced a similar hurdle when negative approval ratings fueled the wave of Democrats elected to office in the 2018 midterms. This helped the party win back the majority in the House of Representatives.
Republicans view Biden’s plummeting numbers as a precursor to what they hope will be a GOP rout in the midterms, which would allow them to reclaim both the Senate and House majorities.
The Quinnipiac University survey polled 1,326 adults across the country. The sampling error is plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.
