An NBC News poll released Sunday found more than two-thirds of Americans doubt President Biden has the chops to manage the Ukraine crisis as his approval rating hit a new low.
The poll of 1,000 adults showed that 71% have “just some” or “very little” confidence in Mr. Biden when it comes to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while 28% said they had “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of confidence in the Democratic president.
The survey was conducted March 18-22, before Mr. Biden met last week with European allies on Ukraine and before he declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power,” an unscripted line that the administration immediately walked back.
In addition, the poll found Mr. Biden’s job approval rating fell to 40%, down from 43% in January, for his lowest score on the survey since taking office. More than half, or 55%, disapproved of the president’s performance, up from 54%.
“What this poll says is that President Biden and Democrats are headed for a catastrophic election,” said GOP pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategy, who conducted the survey with Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates.
Not all the news was bad. Mr. Biden saw an uptick in his approval rating for his handling of the coronavirus, rising from 44% approval in January to 51% in March.
On the other hand, those approving of his handling of the economy fell from 38% in January to 33%.
“Americans were looking for greater certainty and stability after the 2020 election. Whether it is at home or abroad, these expectations have not been met,” said Mr. Horwitt, the Democratic pollster.
The poll has an overall margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.
By a 71 to 28 percent margin, Americans say they don’t have confidence in the president’s ability to respond to the war. Overall, President Biden’s job approval stands at just 40 percent, with 55 percent disapproving, his worst showing yet.https://t.co/zE3VlQKpdk pic.twitter.com/NwmqyoXlnS
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 27, 2022
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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