Americans Continue to Sour on Biden's Handling of All Sorts of Issues

Another week, another poll showing Biden’s approval ratings in the tank.

This time, it’s an ABC/Ipsos poll that shows just how much Americans are souring on Biden’s handling of all sorts of issues.

What shouldn’t be surprising is that the issue where approval ratings are plummeting the fastest is inflation.

More than two-thirds of Americans (69%) disapprove of how Biden is handling inflation (only 28% approve) while more than half (57%) disapprove of his handling of the economic recovery.

And it’s not just not Republicans who think that the president is fumbling this economy. His own party is starting to turn against him, while independents aren’t crazy about how the administration is approaching inflation.

Partisan splits for inflation show expected negativity in Republican views (94% disapproving), but the survey also reveals weaknesses from Biden’s own party with only a slim majority of Democrats (54%) approving. Biden’s orbit is also hemorrhaging independent voters, with 71% disapproving of his handling of inflation.

It’s also worth noting that inflation is the issue that weighs most on voters’ minds, more than the pandemic, which dominated debate for over a year.

Those surveyed also demonstrated their lack of enthusiasm for the president when it comes to crime, violence, and urban unrest.

Biden also sees lagging support for his handling of rising rates of violence in many places across the county. As the national murder rates see historic jumps, only a little more than 1 in 3 Americans (36%) approve of Biden’s handling of crime, down from 43% in an ABC News/Ipsos poll in late October. Similarly, approval of Biden’s handling of gun violence is 32%, down from 39% in the October poll. That figure shrinks among nonpartisans with only 1 in 4 independents approving of Biden’s work on gun violence.

How about foreign policy? Biden didn’t instill confidence in Americans with his video conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who appears to have designs on invading Ukraine.

This poll finds that most Americans (55%) disapprove of how Biden is handling relations with Russia. Further, only 38% of Americans trust Biden to negotiate on America’s behalf with Putin, which is down from 49% in an ABC News/Ipsos poll in June.

A slim majority of those surveyed — 51% — disapprove of the president’s efforts to combat climate change, and that comes with 81% approval from Democrats.

Oddly enough, the issue where Biden’s approval rating isn’t underwater regards his approach to the pandemic:

A slim majority (53%) of Americans approve of Biden’s handling of the pandemic. Even so, Biden’s COVID approval rating is now numerically at its lowest point in ABC/Ipsos polling since he took office, another warning sign for what might be a tough battle to maintain majorities in the U.S. House and Senate.

The White House has expanded federal COVID-19 mitigation efforts as the delta and omicron variants spur stricter vaccination and mask requirements across the country.

The most striking finding from this poll is how many Americans side with the administration on COVID mandates:

Biden has stood by his politically controversial decision to require vaccinations for federal employees and all contractors, a move affecting millions of workers in the public and private sectors. The decision, challenged by state GOP lawmakers, was recently blocked by a U.S. District Court. That said, a bare majority of Americans (51%) are on Biden’s side regarding vaccine mandates, and 7 in 10 Americans believe that mask mandates should remain the same or be more strict.

The Biden administration might take some comfort from the pandemic numbers (and maybe the numbers on climate change) if it even cares about polls at all. But the truth is, the president is taking his lead from the Democratic party, which won’t budge on any of the issues that Americans care about.

Unless something really crazy happens to reverse Biden’s fortunes, the midterm elections could be a bloodbath.