Public opinion pollster Gallup released its latest survey results regarding President Joe Biden’s job approval rating, and the results weren’t good for the sitting president.
The fact that the poll came out three days after the official announcement of his reelection bid must only have made matters worse for the White House.
According to Gallup, “Biden’s decision to seek a second term comes at the weakest point in his presidency,” with his overall approval sitting at only 37 percent.
That’s the lowest result Gallup has gotten for Biden’s approval since the beginning of his presidency, but even that wasn’t the worst news for a politician seeking a second term.
The president’s approval among independent voters was only 31 percent, which was tied for his lowest number since his inauguration.
Granted, the poll surveyed 1,013 randomly selected adults, not likely or even registered voters, by telephone — which means the sample probably skewed older. Therefore, the numbers may not be closely related to actual votes. Gallop claimed a sampling error of plus or minus 4 points.
Still, the direction of the number can’t be comforting to the Biden campaign, with his approval down five points from February and three points from March.
“Only Ronald Reagan in early 1983 had a lower ninth-quarter average among elected post-World War II presidents,” Gallup said — and Reagan was facing a recession and unemployment over 10 percent at the time.
Both Jimmy Carter and Donald Trump were in the low forties at this point in their presidencies; neither, obviously, won reelection to a second term.
Gallup suggested that Biden’s falling numbers were likely tied to American’s view of the economy, which has also worsened in recent months. Three-quarters of those surveyed said the economy was getting worse; only 19 percent said it was improving.
“His support has mainly been stuck in the low 40% range since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan,” the pollster wrote. “Now it has fallen below the 40% mark for just the second time in his presidency, as Americans’ confidence in the economy slips further.”
Gallup noted that high gas prices and inflation rates, higher interest rates, and announced layoffs have all contributed to the perception of a weak economy, even though the actual unemployment number remains relatively low.
The addition of a high-profile opponent for the Democratic nomination may also be contributing to White House concerns, as a new poll found Biden losing significant support after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched a 2024 presidential bid.
The 69-year-old son of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy officially filed his candidacy on April 5.
As he announced his candidacy in Boston, the fierce vaccine skeptic said he opposed the country’s current system of “corporate feudalism.”
“I’ve come here today to announce my candidacy for Democratic nomination for president of the United States,” Kennedy said, Fox News reported.
He added, ”My mission over the next 18 months of this campaign, and throughout my presidency, will be to end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power that is threatening now to impose a new kind of corporate feudalism on our country.”
During his announcement, Kennedy said the “toxic” division in the country was worse than at any time since the Civil War.
A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll released just before the announcement found Kennedy already had the support of 14 percent of voters who cast ballots for Biden in 2020.
Meanwhile, the other declared Democratic candidate, self-help guru Marianne Williamson, polled at 5 percent.
In total, the poll found Biden had the support of only 67 percent of voters who supported him in 2020. Another 13 percent of those polled said they were undecided about who to support.
USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page said the poll revealed “Biden’s potential vulnerability.”
“The findings underscore Biden’s potential vulnerability to a more mainstream challenger for the Democratic nomination, although none has emerged so far, or to a third-party candidate in the general election,” Page wrote.
David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, called Kennedy a “longshot” who nonetheless “can’t be ignored.”
“In 2020, Joe Biden received more votes than any other president in U.S. history, yet the poll tells us that those same voters are open to other Democrats to wage a spirited primary,” Paleologos said in a statement. “Kennedy, although a longshot at this point, starts in double-digits and can’t be ignored.”
The USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll surveyed 600 Biden voters and reported a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.