Young Americans appear to be abandoning President Joe Biden, according to a Wednesday poll from the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics (IOP).
Biden entered office with a 59% approval rating among 18-29-year-olds but that has now dropped 13 points to just 46%, according to the poll. The fall mirrors Biden’s performance in his general approval rating, which has fallen steadily since early summer due largely to his handling of illegal immigration, the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan and the resurgence of COVID-19.
The poll was conducted among 2,109 18- to 29-year-olds from Oct. 26 to Nov. 8. The margin of error was 3.08 points.
Biden’s falling support among young Americans is particularly noteworthy due to how dominant Democrats typically are in the demographic. The IOP poll shows Biden dropped 10 points among young Democrats and 14 points among Independents. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE POLL: Majority Of Americans Say Biden Is To Blame For Divided America)
US Vice President Joe Biden holds back tears while talking about his friend, Senator Edward Kennedy. AFP PHOTO / Tim Sloan (Photo by Tim SLOAN / AFP) (Photo by TIM SLOAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Large numbers of respondents also expressed pessimism regarding the state of the U.S., with 45% of Democratic respondents saying the U.S. is either a “democracy in trouble” or a “failed democracy.” More than 50% percent of Independents and 70% of Republicans said the same, according to the poll.
“Nearly half of young Republicans place the chances of a second civil war at 50% or higher, compared to 32% of Democrats, and 38% of independent and unaffiliated voters,” the IOP wrote. (RELATED: GOP Holds Largest Lead In Early Midterm Election Preferences In 40 Years, Poll Shows)
Biden’s approval rating among the general public has plummeted from 54% upon entering office to 36.3% as of Wednesday, according to a poll from the Trafalgar Group and Convention of States.
#BidenApproval continues to dip:#Inds 29.3%,#Dem 65.0%,#GOP 8.2%
36.3% Approve,
59.1% Disapprove,
4.6% No Opinion,According to @trafalgar_group #PresidentialApproval #poll Conducted 11/26-29.
See Report: https://t.co/bpiFS1JxgA pic.twitter.com/dsI7yIBboN— Robert C. Cahaly (@RobertCahaly) December 1, 2021
The unpopularity of both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris has many Democrats worried about their prospects in the 2022 midterm elections.