President Biden’s approval rating rebounded by 6 percentage points this week but remains underwater with the public, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that raises alarms for Democrats in a midterm election year.
Mr. Biden’s approval rose from 36% to 42% — up from the lowest level of his presidency the prior week — though the national poll found that 52% of Americans disapprove of his performance.
His popularity among Democrats rose from 72% to 78% but only 12% of Republicans approve of his performance, the poll found.
The president’s approval rating has been below 50% since August as he contends with soaring inflation. Pandemic-related supply chain problems were exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, though critics say Mr. Biden overheated the economy with stimulus money in early 2021.
Stubbornly low approval ratings are sounding alarm bells for Democrats who could lose their House majority in the midterm elections. The evenly divided Senate is also up for grabs in November.
Mr. Biden’s poor approval rating last week approached the low point for his predecessor, Donald Trump, who bottomed out at 33% in December 2017, according to Reuters.
The poll was conducted Tuesday and Wednesday among 1,005 adults, including 435 Democrats and 371 Republicans. It has a “credibility interval,” or margin of error, of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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