President Biden’s approval rating in a key average of major polls dropped below 40 percent this week, the first time that had happened since he took office.
The Real Clear Politics average of all recent national surveys found Wednesday that 39.8 percent of Americans approved of Biden’s performance in office, while 54.4 percent disapproved.
The president’s average approval rating ticked back up to an even 40 percent Thursday, with an average of 53.8 percent of respondents disapproving.
After holding above 50 percent in his first months in office, Biden’s approval rating began to plunge last August amid the chaotic and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Biden’s popularity has even dropped below that of his predecessor, Donald Trump, who finished his four years in office with an average approval rating of 41.1 percent, according to RCP.
The abysmal rating comes as the White House continues to grapple with soaring inflation and rising gas prices, the COVID-19 pandemic and surging crime in big cities.
Biden is also grappling with the defeat of his nearly $2 trillion spending plan — the key item on Democrats’ legislative agenda — as well as the ongoing threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
