Biden’s Approval Drops To 38% On Mishandling Of Immigration, Middle East And Ukraine Crises

By Megan Brenan of Gallup

Americans’ approval of President Joe Biden’s job performance has edged down three percentage points to 38%, just one point shy of his all-time low and well below the 50% threshold that has typically led to reelection for incumbents.

In addition, Biden registers subpar approval ratings for his handling of five key issues facing the U.S., including a new low of 28% for immigration and readings ranging from 30% to 40% for the situation in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas, foreign affairs, the economy and the situation in Ukraine.

Biden’s approval rating has not risen above 44% since August 2021, and his 39.8% average rating for his third year in office was the second worst among post-World War II presidents elected to their first term.

Economic Approval Up Slightly; Democrats Down on Immigration

Approval of Biden’s handling of the economy is up a modest four points among U.S. adults since November, while his ratings on the other issues have not significantly changed from the prior readings in November (and August for immigration). Positive U.S. economic news on several fronts continued during Gallup’s Feb. 1-20 field period, including low unemployment, subdued inflation and record stock market values.

Democrats largely approve of Biden’s handling of the economy (75%), the situation in Ukraine (72%) and foreign affairs (69%). However, bare majorities of Democrats approve of the president’s handling of immigration (55%) and the Middle East situation (51%). Biden’s ratings among Democrats have dipped on the situations in the Middle East (-9 points) and Ukraine (-6 points) and on immigration (-7 points).

Meanwhile, Biden has gained some ground among independents on the economy (+6 points to 30%). Still, their ratings on this and other issues are weak — ranging from 23% for the Middle East situation to 34% for the Ukraine situation.

Few Republicans express approval for Biden on any of the issues measured, with immigration (3%) and the economy (4%) the worst and the Middle East (17%) and Ukraine (16%) situations the best. Republicans’ ratings for Biden’s handling of immigration have dropped six points since August. A recent Gallup poll found that the immigration issue, specifically, is the top reason those who disapprove of Biden give for why they evaluate his performance negatively.

Democrats’ Overall Approval of Biden Stable

Democrats’ latest overall job rating of Biden is steady at 82% — higher than they give him for any specific issue. However, the 82% overall approval is far from the nearly unanimous approval he earned from his party during his first 11 months in office, but it is unchanged compared with November, even as his issue ratings are mostly down.

Biden’s approval rating from political independents is fairly steady at 32%, and he continues to register single-digit Republican approval (3%). His approval ratings from both independents and Republicans have edged down three points since January.

Bottom Line

Biden’s overall job rating has slipped to 38%, and his ratings on immigration, the Israel-Hamas situation, foreign affairs and the economy are even lower. He has lost some ground among his party in recent months on immigration and the situations in the Middle East and Ukraine, though his overall rating hasn’t dropped among Democrats.

Looking ahead to November, history suggests that Biden has significant work to do to improve his approval rating among independents as well as Democrats if he is to win a second term.