President Biden’s approval rating is lower than any others in the office seeking reelection in the past half-century, according to a Gallup poll released Friday.
The Gallup poll found that Mr. Biden’s approval sits at 39%, much worse than President Donald Trump’s 45% rating at the end of 2019 and President Barack Obama’s 43% at 2011’s conclusion.
President George W. Bush’s approval rating stood at 58% with a year to go in his first term in 2003, while Presidents Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter were in the mid-50% range, Gallup said.
The same poll found that Mr. Biden’s 39% is an improvement from 37% in October and November, but it’s the fifth time in 2023 that his number is below 40%.
In a bright spot for the president, his approval rating among independents is at 34%, up from a record-low 27% in November. But his approval rating within his own party dipped to 78% among Democrats from 83% last month.
“Biden enters 2024 with a persistently low job approval rating, the worst of any modern-day president heading into a tough reelection campaign,” Gallup wrote in a statement accompanying the poll.
The Gallup poll revealed that Americans feel better about the economy, but their confidence remains in negative territory. Furthermore, 68% say the economy is getting worse compared with 28% who say it’s improving.
Gallup conducted the poll from Dec. 1-20.
