Biden ends year with 39% approval rating: Gallup
- Gallup polled people from Dec. 1-20 amid wars, impeachment inquiry
- Biden's rating is worst of any modern-day president seeking re-election
- It's still an improvement over the 37% he had in October and November
FILE – President Joe Biden speaks about investment in rail projects, including high-speed electric trains, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
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(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden ended 2023 with a 39% job approval rating, according to a Gallup poll. It’s the worst of any modern-day president in the year before seeking re-election, the organization said.
Still, the 39% is a slight improvement from the 37% Biden saw in October and November, Gallup noted.
Gallup took the poll from Dec. 1 through the 20th, as the Israel-Hamas war continued, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the White House and Republican representatives voted unanimously to open an impeachment inquiry into Biden.
Republicans’ ratings of Biden have been in the single digits since August 2021, Gallup wrote, but it is also down slightly among Democrats at 78%, a decrease from 83% last month. Meanwhile, he had a 34% approval rating from Indepdents, up from November’s 27%.
Compared to seven other presidents’ ratings at the same point in their first term in office, Biden’s is the lowest. Former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump had 43% and 45%, respectively.
Former president George W. Bush had a 58% approval rating in 2003, and Bill Clinton had 51% in 1991, per Gallup.
Gallup’s poll also shows that Americans’ views on the economy were still overall negative, though their confidence in it did improve in December.
About 33% of American adults said the current economic conditions in the country are fair, and 45% said they were poor. Only 3% said they were excellent or good. Most Americans (68%) believe the economy is getting worse.
Top of mind for many is the issue of inflation. Although it is easing, and there have recently been other positive economic indicators, many Americans still aren’t seeing these changes in their everyday lives.