Biden's Approval Takes a Hit, Driven by Sagging Hopes Among Democrats
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
President Biden's approval rating has taken a dip in recent weeks — but it's not even close to the drop in support for Congress's performance, as negotiations over legislation in Washington have ground to a virtual standstill.
That's the top-line takeaway from a national poll released on Wednesday by Monmouth University. But here's the secondary message: Democrats are the ones growing most disillusioned, and fast.
Back in April, when Mr. Biden was making big legislative strides, 83 percent of Democrats said they thought the country was moving in the right direction, according to a Monmouth survey at the time. But in Wednesday's poll, just 59 percent of Democrats said that.
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The share of Democrats saying the country was on the wrong track rose by 20 percentage points, to 32 percent.
"People are anxious — and look, Biden had such success at the outset with the Covid relief package that it probably got people's expectations up very high about how much could be done and how soon," Bob Shrum, the director of the Center for the Political Future at the University of Southern California, said in an interview. "Now reality is intruding."
The $1.9 trillion economic relief bill that Mr. Biden signed in March remains broadly popular, with six in 10 Americans expressing a positive opinion of it, according to the poll. That's basically on par with the 63 percent who gave it positive marks in a Monmouth survey in April, soon after the bill was passed.
And support for the president's other top priorities remains high. Sixty-eight percent of Americans support the American Jobs Plan, his $2 trillion infrastructure plan, and 61 percent back the American Families Plan, his similarly large-scale proposal to invest in health care, child care and education.
But that support isn't reflected in Congress, where Mr. Biden's party holds the barest of control of both chambers — and where even some Democratic lawmakers haven't fully gotten behind his proposals. Senators Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have insisted on finding bipartisan compromise, rather than passing those two plans through the process of budgetary reconciliation, which would allow the bills to become law without any Republican votes.
The resulting standstill in Washington has left many Democrats feeling impatient. In the April poll, 63 percent of Democratic respondents said they approved of the job that Congress was doing. But that number has now been cut in half: Just 32 percent of Democrats gave Congress positive marks in the Monmouth survey released Wednesday.
Approval has also fallen among independents, though it didn't have as far to go: It fell to 13 percent in the new poll from 28 percent in April.
Among all Americans, approval of Congress was down to 21 percent from 35 percent in April. (Though still paltry, that April figure had represented Congress's highest approval rating at any point since 2013, when Monmouth started asking the question.)
"All in all, these poll numbers are still pretty good, given how polarized the environment is — but there's no denying that some in the base want to see more accomplishments than we've had so far," Jim Manley, a veteran Democratic strategist, said in an interview.
"I think the moment demands as aggressive an approach as possible, but the reality is, nothing is coming easy on Capitol Hill, and not everything Democrats want is going to get done," he said.
The president's approval rating has dropped by six points since April, and sits at 48 percent in the latest poll. This is the first Monmouth survey since Mr. Biden took office in which his approval has fallen below 50 percent. Still, with just 43 percent expressing disapproval, he isn't in the red.
The dip was driven partly by liberals, whose approval of Mr. Biden fell by 12 points, to 76 percent, in the latest poll.
Mr. Manchin, a Democrat representing a deeply red state, voted for the widely popular relief package in March, but he has staunchly resisted passing another round of legislation without Republican buy-in. And he has been equally unwavering in his refusal to nix or weaken the filibuster, as many Democratic leaders and progressives have said they would like to do.
He is currently at work with Ms. Sinema and a group of Republican senators on a compromise infrastructure bill. Those talks have yet to result in a viable counterproposal. Some progressive Democrats have indicated that they would back a compromise on infrastructure only if Mr. Manchin and Ms. Sinema pledged to support passing a version of the American Families Plan through reconciliation.
While Wednesday's Monmouth poll found the public to be broadly supportive of both the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan, respondents were more divided on how Democrats ought to pass them.
Forty-six percent of the country said that Mr. Biden's major proposals should be passed as is, even if they didn't get any Republican support, while 22 percent said they would favor significantly cutting the proposals down in order to gain bipartisan backing. Twenty-four percent said the bills shouldn't be passed at all.
Among Democrats and liberals, there was little ambiguity: Four in five respondents in those groups said that Mr. Biden's bills should be passed in their original form, no matter the Republican opposition.
Patrick Murray, the director of polling at Monmouth, pointed to another question on the survey as an important litmus test: Respondents were asked whether they thought Mr. Biden's policies had benefited the middle class. Fifty-one percent said they had done at least a little to help, including three-quarters of Democrats, according to the poll. But just 19 percent said the policies had made a lot of difference.
Mr. Murray said that as Democrats looked ahead to a high-stakes midterm election cycle next year, voters' feelings about how Mr. Biden's bills have affected them personally would matter more than how he passed them.
"At the end of the day it's about the results, and not how you got there," Mr. Murray said in an interview. "So if you're looking at 2022, what you should be looking at is: What's going to be passed by then, and how are people going to feel it's benefited them personally?"
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Are Democrats starting to get buyer's remorse?
But Putin thinks he's an okay guy...............out loud anyway. Inner thoughts? Who knows.
I am a little curious as to why Putin and his media would praise Biden.
I wish I knew what their angle is.
They know President Biden cannot be manipulated by the murdering Putin thug. Unlike #45 who had a Little Putin tramp stamp.
Sure, sure, they must have read all about Tough Joe and his glory days of beating down old Corn Pop!!
Sure heard a different tune when Trump was in office!
LMAO!!
No, Little Putin had little trumturd's # and Little Putin knew it!
What is comical is people thinking donald was some world domination when in reality he is nothing but a blowhard and everyone knew it.
Well, except his ever loving blind faith allegiance fans.
Nobody messed with him. He was unpredictable as a leader should be. O3 is a candyass in comparison............strange you and others don't see it. Well I guess it isn't. And it looks like even those in his camp do.
Your opinion. And not held by all, only donald supporters.
Since when should a leader be unpredictable? That is bullshit if I ever heard it.
And I wouldn't necessarily call donald unpredictable. In a way he is very predictable.
The only was he is not was when he tried to set forth some wacky agenda that a couple of times would have been illegal so they had to change tune.
The shit came out of both ends of trumpturd yet his supporters eat up every drop with a spoon and ask for more!
Nobody messed with that big piece of shit bully because they feared death threats against themselves and their families for daring to tell the truth about that overblown piece of shit pig turd traitor scumbag filth.
Amazing that some people think donald threatening people on twitter is being 'strong'.
No, it is being an idiot.
A complete and total moron.
What wacky agendas? Name some.
"Are Democrats starting to get buyer's remorse?"
Not at all. Why would we?
Then why the large drop from Democrats?
So now you believe in polls?
I didn't say I did or didn't in this case, but whatever, that is no answer to what was asked.
There has been no drop in Democrat approval whatsoever. Unless you believe in these polls you're basing your non-answers on.
Again, so now you believe in polls? I mean, your 'article' is based on polls. So, again, now you believe in polls?
Once in a while, if you READ the articles you post on, you learn what the topic is and some pertinent facts associated with the article.
But it does require reading.
Republican support INCREASED 209%.
And that has WHAT to do with Democratic support shrinking?????????????????????????????????
It's part of your seeded poll Tex.
Well, no fucking shit.
Now, WTF DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH LOWER DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT???????????????????
Here is a repeat of the original question just for you:
Please note the complete lack of anything at ALL to do with Republicans in that question.
The INCREASE in GOP support of Biden contrasts the decrease of Democratic support Tex.
Oh and BTFW, where does the poll show that the dip in Democratic support is 'driven by sagging hopes'? Hint: NOWHERE.
Support from Republicans doesn't have anything to do with lower Democratic support.
That is just an inescapable fact, Jack!
No...this is what NYT is reporting
Perhaps not, but it sure could be an indicator of Republican's buyer's remorse...
And?
It could mean that originally 5 people supported ole' Hiden Biden, now 16 do.
Big whoopie.....
If you want to know the actual data, go review the poll numbers bugsy.
Perhaps?
Try NOT AT ALL--it is the TRUTH.
But it does require reading.
Reading far right wing lies and propaganda gives me headaches.
We now have it on record:
"The president's approval rating has dropped by six points since April, and sits at 48 percent in the latest poll."
24 point drop amoung Democrats.....ouch.
NO worries. President Biden is doing just fine!
I prefer a President to do more than just fine.
So do we. That's why Biden is President of the United States.
Apparently some think Biden is just doing fine.
Do you realize just how silly that statement is after the last 4 years? Trump never even reached the "fine" level, let alone do better.
The TDS hangover.
His overall approval rate only dropped 6 points. That means that people who are not Dems like what he is doing.
Hence my comment:
But that also means that his approval has risen among others to offset that 32 point drop among Dems. This is not a shock, since he is an old-school Dem.
yes, I get all that, but that wasn't my question.
Your question was:
The poll means that on the spectrum of Dems, that probably the far left does not like what he is doing. I never expected that they would.
He suckered them.
Even this 60s hippy/musician has always been an independent centrist.
P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Progressives are disappointed in both the President and Democrats in Congress for not being tough enough with the intransigent goppers who are blocking everything they had hoped to pass, for not coming out strong enough against the filibuster and for not being aggressive enough with executive orders. They are unhappy because Biden is seeking compromises when the gop is never going to.
These numbers show no increase in public support for the gop, for Trump or for conservative policies.
The dip was driven partly by liberals, whose approval of Mr. Biden fell by 12 points, to 76 percent, in the latest poll.
76% after 'taking a hit'? Alrighty, then.
I wonder how the author came to that conclusion since 'liberal' isn't a demographic for the poll.
He isnt Trump and that is really all I voted for him to be, not trump. He is doing that part well. It’s be nice if the Dems were able to make some real changes but with a 50/50 senate I never expected a whole lot.
Dems are trending down in all aspects as the failures mount
It isn’t “failures” it is the senate being fucking worthless as usual.
"The share of Democrats saying the country was on the wrong track rose by 20 percentage points, to 32 percent."
Maybe because the Republicans are blocking the right track?
Or Democrats are just plain wrong as usual.
Funny how it is never obstruction when Democrats are the ones doing it.
Maybe it's biased media that's providing the impression that the Republicans are much more obstructionist than Democrats ever were, but it sure as hell has appeared to me that the Republicans outdo the Democrats in that effort.
Obstruction can be signaled by an historic lack of cooperation in a transfer of power, and the signing of executive orders and actions taken in the final lame duck days, all designed to make the commencement of a new administration difficult.
And I was just thinking that in America, the right thinks the left is wrong, the left thinks the right is wrong, and the problem is that two wrongs don't make a right (or a left).
Lol. It’s hilarious that the moment Biden has a minor slip in an approval poll conservatives start talking about buyer’s remorse. As if a single person has switched political alliances to the R side of the isle. There is a fucking Grand Canyon separating the two parties. By far the most interesting outcome of this poll is that Republicans are being reminded by the current POTUS what actually governing is and they’re having a fire reignited beneath them because of it. After years of Trump humiliating the country on the world stage they are being reminded once again what it is like to be respected throughout the world through thoughtful diplomacy. There is zero chance of disillusioned democrats switching teams because Joe didn’t do this or that. The Republicans will always be the party of doing nothing.
Even this 60s hippy/musician has always been an independent centrist.