A Washington Post/ABC News survey conducted in the wake of President Joe Biden’s reelection kick-off found his approval rating has fallen to a new low as voters hold growing doubts about his age and ability to do the job of President.
Summary
A Washington Post/ABC News survey conducted in the wake of President Joe Biden’s reelection kick-off found his approval rating has fallen to a new low as voters hold growing doubts about his age and ability to do the job of President.
- Biden’s job approval fell by 6 percentage points since the survey was last conducted in February, dropping to a new low of 36% while 56% disapprove.
- About 47% of voters strongly disapprove while only 18% strongly approve.
- More than two-thirds of Americans – 68% – believe Biden is too old to serve another term as president. Just 44% think former President Donald Trump is too old to serve, despite being only four years younger than Biden.
- By a 54-36% margin, more Americans believe Trump did a better job handling the economy than Biden has so far.
- Barely a third of Americans think Biden has the mental sharpness and physical health to serve as President, while majorities agree that Trump has those qualities.
- The only metric that Biden leads Trump on is “honest and trustworthy,” where Biden holds a 41-33% lead over his predecessor.
- Both leading Republican candidates lead Biden in hypothetical general-election matchups. Trump leads Biden 45-38%, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis leads Biden by a 42-37% margin.
- Politico noted Biden’s approval rating has dropped below his previous low in 2022, and the number of people who disapprove of his job performance is “significantly higher” than it was in previous surveys.
- The 56% of voters who disapprove of Biden’s performance is identical to the percentage of voters who think Trump should face criminal charges for his attempt to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election.
- Politico noted Biden’s approval rating has dropped below his previous low in 2022, and the number of people who disapprove of his job performance is “significantly higher” than it was in previous surveys. The 56% of voters who disapprove of Biden’s performance is identical to the percentage of voters who think Trump should face criminal charges for his attempt to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election.
- The New York Times called Biden’s standing in the Post/ABC News poll “bleak.” Maggie Astor argues the poll shows “Voters are broadly dissatisfied with President Biden’s job performance and are opposed to re-electing him…but they don’t like their top Republican alternatives either, reflecting a deep disconnect between what Americans want and the options available to them.”
- CNN argued Biden, Trump, and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein are all part of a trend of “Old guard political leaders… defying one of America’s fabled political rites – the passing of a torch to a new generation.”
- The Monday episode of the Commentary Magazine Podcast delved into the “absolutely horrendous” poll numbers for Biden and discussed the phenomenon of our time – the “old men who run the world.”
- The Wall Street Journal predicted conditions are not likely to improve for Biden in the short term. May will be a “rough month” as the Biden administration faces “a clash with Republicans over raising the debt ceiling and an expected surge of migrants along the U.S. southern border as the pandemic-era Title 42 policy comes to an end May 11. The recent seizure of another failing bank could add to voters’ uncertainty about the health of the economy.”
- National Review’s Jim Geraghty thought one nugget from the poll was particularly notable: “Also, when contemplating the choice before the GOP in this cycle, this detail is amusing: “Among Americans who say Biden lacks the mental sharpness to serve as an effective president, 12 percent nonetheless say they would definitely or probably vote for him against Trump.” In other words, a decent number of people are saying, “we’ll take our chances with the senile old guy rather than live through another four years of Trump.””
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© Dominic Moore, 2023
