President Joe Biden's approval rating hit 63% on his pandemic response
Category: News & Politics
Via: jbb • 3 years ago • 56 commentsBy: Julie Pace and Hannah Fingerhut (USA TODAY)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Julie Pace and Hannah Fingerhut Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is plunging into the next phase of his administration with the steady approval of a majority of Americans, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The survey shows Biden is buoyed in particular by the public's broad backing for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
In the fourth month of his presidency, Biden's overall approval rating sits at 63%. When it comes to the new Democratic president's handling of the pandemic, 71% of Americans approve, including 47% of Republicans.
The AP-NORC poll also shows an uptick in Americans' overall optimism about the state of the country. Fifty-four percent say the country is on the right track, higher than at any point in AP-NORC polls conducted since 2017; 44% think the nation is on the wrong track.
Those positive marks have fueled the Biden White House's confidence coming out of the president's first 100 days in office, a stretch in which he secured passage of a sweeping $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package and surged COVID-19 vaccines across the country. The U.S., which has suffered the most virus deaths of any nation, is now viewed enviably by much of the rest of the world for its speedy vaccination program and robust supplies of the shots.
"We are turning a corner," said Jeff Zients, the White House's COVID-19 response coordinator.
The improvements have also impacted Americans' concerns about the virus. The AP-NORC poll shows the public's worries about the pandemic are at their lowest level since February 2020, when the virus was first reaching the U.S. About half of Americans say they are at least somewhat worried that they or a relative could be infected with the virus, down from about 7 in 10 just a month earlier.
As has been the case throughout the pandemic, there is a wide partisan gap in Americans' views of pandemic risks. Among Democrats, 69% say they remain at least somewhat worried about being infected with the virus, compared with just 33% of Republicans.
Despite the overall positive assessments of Americans, Biden's advisers are well aware that the next phase of his presidency is potentially trickier. Vaccination rates have slowed, and the administration is grappling with how to persuade those who are reluctant to get the shots about their safety and efficacy.
Biden's legislative agenda for the rest of this year also faces obstacles on Capitol Hill. Republicans are resisting his calls for passing a sweeping infrastructure package, and there's insufficient support among Democrats for overhauling Senate rules in a way that would allow the party to tackle changes to immigration policy, gun laws and voting rights on its own.
There are also potential warning signs emerging on the economy after a strong start to the year. A new government report out Friday showed employers added just 266,000 jobs in April, sharply lower than in March and far fewer than economists had expected. The slowdown was attributed to a multitude of factors, including nearly 3 million people reluctant to look for work because they fear catching the virus. Some businesses — and Republican lawmakers — also argue that a $300-a-week jobless benefit, paid for by the federal government, is discouraging some of the unemployed from taking new jobs.
Biden, however, argued that the report is an indication that more federal spending is needed to help bolster the economy. He's pitched to Congress a $4 trillion package for spending on infrastructure, education and children, a measure many liberal Democrats say should be bigger and most Republicans argue is far too large.
"We never thought that after the first 50 or 60 days everything would be fine," Biden said after Friday's job report was released. "There's more evidence our economy is moving in the right direction. But it's clear we have a long way to go."
What's unclear is whether the employment slowdown will continue or how it will impact Americans' views of Biden's handling of the economy. Ahead of Friday's new jobs numbers, his approval rating on the economy stood at a solid 57%.
Compared with Biden's approval ratings on the pandemic, there is a starker partisan divide in views of his handling of the economy. Nearly all Democrats, 91%, back his economic stewardship, while just 19% of GOP voters do.
While the pandemic and the economy have dominated Biden's early months in office, other significant issues loom.
Immigration in particular has become a growing concern for the White House as it grapples with an increase in migration, including by unaccompanied minors, at the U.S. border with Mexico. Republicans have tried to tie the uptick to Biden's rollback of more stringent border policies enacted by his predecessor, Donald Trump.
Immigration is also among Biden's lowest-rated issues in the AP-NORC survey. Overall, 43% approve of his handling of the issue, while 54% disapprove.
The president also receives lower marks on gun policy, which has catapulted back to the forefront of the national debate following a string of mass shootings across the country. Americans are largely split over Biden's approach to the issue, with 48% approving and 49% disapproving.
The next phase of Biden's presidency is also likely to include more action on foreign policy. He announced that all U.S. troops will withdraw from Afghanistan by September, and American negotiators have resumed discussions with Iran on a new nuclear agreement. The White House has also signaled that Biden may hold his first in-person meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin this summer.
Thus far, a slim majority of Americans, 54%, say they approve of Biden's foreign policy.
The AP-NORC poll of 1,842 adults was conducted April 29-May 3 using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
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Imagine it was the middle of May forty years ago in the late spring on 1981 and Jimmy Carter was still claiming that he had won and the Democrats had actually tried to overturn the results of Reagan's election in 1980.
Is it any wonder that the once Grand Old Party of Abraham Lincoln is now known merely as the gop?
Which rhymes with glop and flop. The gop is slop!
[deleted]
SIXTY THREE PERCENT APPROVAL
So refreshing to have an adult in the White House
I don't think trumpturd ever got above 35% approval.
To hear the gop you'd think Biden wasn't succeeding!
Just wait until Americans realize this hidden Biden tax they'll be subject to.
Sadly, this is way over the heads of a lot of the audience here.
Although, the inability to grasp inflation does explain alot about the economic arguments you see here.
Of course it is. But at the same time, those very same individuals complain that "everything costs more when I'm shopping". That they cannot grasp that for the most part, it is in fact inflation that is the cause of that price rise.
When the rich pay all their taxes on recent stock market gains we should be okay!
How is it that inflation is a hidden tax by President Biden???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Like prices didn't rise at all during the donald years....
Read the article. It's not all that long.
It's not a tax. I don't know why people post such nonsense.
An opinion...
Partisan bullshit.
Inflation has been going on for years.
You really want to make that argument in public?
You really think inflation never happened until now?
Except the facts included in the article. Like this:
Of course not. But our economic system is geared towards inflation of 2%. Four percent is a massive problem. Do you remember the 70s?
The best case scenario is interest rates go up and we can get it back under control, but that still means a higher cost of lending that punishes consumers.
Here's a little primer
Janet Yellen explained in a speech as Fed chief in 2015 how inflation pauperises households and pensioners that depend on fixed incomes to survive, and how it eats into the real earnings of poorer workers least able to defend themselves.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/05/11/fed-qe-really-will-cause-inflation-time/
Interest rates have been ridiculously low from the feds.
They have, and when they go up it's gets a hell of a lot more expensive to pay back all the money we've borrowed. When the era of low interest rates and low inflation ends, our economy will be in serious trouble.
Granted. They've been too low for too long. But now, the FED has no arrows in it's quiver to fight inflation which is happening now. If they raise rates, that hurts the people with credit card balances and those that want to finance things like those nice shiny new electric cars that will be forced on them soon. Oh, and don't forget the added costs corporations will also be paying for the raw materials they'll need, and the additional interest they'll need to pay for any borrowed operating capital they'll require. Of course those now shuttered small businesses will have no problem raising capital to reopen right?
Come back with something CURRENT. When it comes to inflation, 2018 is ancient history.
It shows that inflation was rising during the trump years.
Of course you all were silent then.
It is a continual track up.
I don't know where the average Joe is getting rates at 1% cause it sure ain't me.
You are aware, I would hope anyway, that you and other commoners like myself don't pay the FED rate. Those are intrabank rates.
Yep. They get the almost zero interest rates while we get 20% from a credit card.
One or even two percent inflationary rises is not like these, as quoted directly from the article I referenced:
Yup, straight up, opinion ONLY. No facts whatsoever.
Thanks for the facts Ender! Some folks seem to think that opinions = facts.
And you all don't see any connection from the pandemic?
I also remember donald threatening the feds when they wanted to raise rates.
I get zero, and actually make money on my credit card purchases. I use either a points or cash back card, depending on which the vendor accepts and pay off the balance monthly.
Besides, you have the option of not using credit cards, which are a major source of loss for the card issuer. But to cover their loss from the deadbeats that either skip on their responsibilities, or those who fall victim to criminals, they recover some of that loss from you and other people that pay their bills. So, your complaint is not with the credit card company, it's with the deadbeats and/or criminal activity victims.
Most people can't pay them off every month.
I was going to get a card with travel miles, then the pandemic hit.
Of course I do. But it's more to do with the government spending money like a drunk sailor in a whore house on payday.
When you flood the economy with money, the end result is a devaluing of the currency requiring business and people to require more money to buy goods and services.
Hopefully, the government regains it's sense and stops printing money which will lead to hyperinflation.
I will admit I think this idea of a permanent government check is ridiculous.
Better off with a cash back. Travel miles limits you to, well travel. But cash back can be used against the monthly balance or you can put the cash back check in the bank, for a pitiful ROI interest payment!!
That's a perfect link and it shows how much prices went up up up while trumpturd was in office. While he looted and raped and pillaged the treasury along with his criminal enterprise of an 'administration'. Not that that has anything to do with inflation but inflation did exist prior to trumpturd.
I've heard that the number of job openings is greater than the number of people on "unemployment". I can understand peoples unwillingness to go back to work. They can make more on unemployment than working. That's exactly why the son of a friend stateside hasn't returned to work. He qualified for unemployment and now gets about $175 a week more to sit at home. I can't blame him for the logic of his decision. He works out, does research for his thesis, saves on 'commuting' expenses and helps his folks around the house. But he has said that if the extra fed assistance stops, he's back to work in a heart beat.
That is why I think it should be tapered off. Not stop everything all at once.
People don't make more money to sit at home while on unemployment.
For fucks sake, there was no pandemic in 2018. Pay attention.
If you feel compelled to comment, at least read what you are commenting on.
Stop it now. There are millions of job openings available with no takers. It's 'tough love' to make the people get off their asses and earn their money. what they're doing now is doing nothing but make people dependent on government for their existence.
My mistake for fucks sake.
I made a mistake and corrected it for fucks sake unlike trumpturd and supporters.
Don't need/want/care for your advice.
I'll comment as I please when I please where I please
It served its purpose. Helped a lot of people.
It should be tapered off in tandem with opening back up.
The problem seemed to be some people wanting to open up too early and some people wanting to wait.
It helps, helped a lot of people.
Since it "served" it's purpose, there is no longer a need for it.
The only reason America isn't opened now is control and mixed signals by government.
Those that opened are faring very well. Those that stayed locked up, are still suffering the consequences.
Disagree. I say mixed signals from different states, different pundits, etc.
I don't know anywhere that is still completely locked up.
If some people wouldn't be idiots about getting vaccinated we could be further along.
The ones that matter are what comes from Biden and his minions, like the CDC. When Biden wears his face depends on a fucking VIDEO call with other world leaders what message is he sending to Americans? Is he afraid he'll contract the virus over an internet connection?
The CDC can't get their stories straight either.
Which were open pretty much from the beginning and which weren't? Which have small businesses that have packed it in and either just closed or moved to other open states? I'm confident you know the answer, even if you're unwilling to admit it.
Maybe if the administration would stop with the mask nonsense. Biden continues to insist on wearing his to send a message. The only message that he's sending is that the vaccine he took isn't working and he still needs to wear a mask, even outdoors.
Also, there are millions of people that already have natural immunity from having had the virus. And the vaccine is now being used as a political bludgeon by the unions to push their agenda and desires, the biggest ones being the teachers unions. I'm so thankful that my kids are adults and my grandchildren and stepchildren are only a year or two from graduation.
You know as well as I do there are people that listen to their favorite pundit over anything Biden would say.
I don't see why you all get so upset about Biden wearing a mask. So what. It shows a good example and doesn't hurt anyone.
This whole anti-mask thing is ridiculous.
Very true.
Thank you President Biden for successfully implementing the Trump Operation Warp Speed vaccine production and distribution plans as well as you have. Of course, it might actually even be a better operation if the White House and CDC would stop sending mixed signals to the American people and show your faith in the effectiveness of the vaccine by ceasing to wear masks everywhere you go, even when you know everyone else around you is also vaccinated. Oh, that would include outside where the possibility of contracting the virus is less than 1%.
Thanks President Biden for erasing all the hateful scummy things that trumpturd did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks to trumpturd there are over 500,000 dead!