WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden’s public approval dipped to 39 percent this month, nearing the lowest level of his presidency, according to a Reuters/Ipsos survey, as the US economy showed indications of slowing.
The three-day poll, which concluded on Sunday, indicated a slight drop from last month, when 42 percent of respondents approved of Biden’s work as president.
Biden’s popularity fell virtually consistently after he entered office in January 2021, reaching a low of 36% in mid-2022. Since then, it has maintained close to that level.
Biden announced last Friday that he would compete for re-election in 2024, although he has yet to officially open his campaign.
He is unlikely to face serious competition for his Democratic Party’s nomination, but his approval ratings remain low by historical norms.
Donald Trump, who is also running for president in 2024, had similar low approval ratings during his presidency from 2017 to 2021, peaking at 33% in December 2017. Previous presidents only had such low approval levels on rare occasions.
Respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll were most inclined to name the economy as the country’s main problem, with one in every five referring to it. About one in ten respondents named crime and the environment as America’s top problems.
One potential bright light for Biden: 68 percent of respondents said they opposed federal courts overturning FDA clearance of the abortion medication mifepristone.
The outcome was the latest to demonstrate a clear majority of Americans opposing moves to restrict abortion rights.
A nationally representative sample of 1,029 US adults was used in the Reuters/Ipsos poll. The margin of error in the poll is three percentage points.
