President Joe Biden reportedly privately refers to his predecessor as the “worst president” in U.S. history.
But according to the polls, Americans do not view Biden much better than former President Donald Trump.
A new Morning Consult/Politico poll released on Wednesday found that Biden’s approval rating has fallen below 40% for the first time in this survey since he took office.
The poll found that 39% of Americans approve of his job performance while 58% disapprove.
At the same point in his presidency, Trump received a 45% approval rating and 52% disapproval.
As the polling outfit notes, “Biden’s popularity, or lack thereof, mirrors Trump’s standing in June 2020, when the nation was grappling with the twin crises of the pandemic and the response to the murder of George Floyd.”
In June 2020, 39% of voters either “strongly” or “somewhat” approved of Trump’s job performance. Meanwhile, 58% “strongly” or “somewhat” disapproved.
NEW: We just clocked Joe Biden's worst approval rating yet.
— Eli Yokley (@eyokley) June 8, 2022
Biden’s latest numbers are worse Trump’s were at this time four years ago – and instead mirror '45's standing in June 2020, amid COVID-19 and summer #BLM protests. https://t.co/n0rhjURD1d pic.twitter.com/HfMInDTD2F
The only good news in this poll is that Republicans and Democrats are tied when it comes to which party respondents want to control Congress.
While Trump was beset with years of the Russian collusion investigation, an impeachment proceeding, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a slew of other controversies, Biden has been hampered in part because of his bad political strategy, just to name a few examples.
Since taking office, he pushed through a COVID-19 spending package which economists say exasperated inflation, blamed unvaccinated Americans for holding back economic growth, and claimed those who opposed Democrats’ election bills are on the same side as traitors to the republic.
Biden vowed to pursue unity and bipartisanship, but after taking office, those measures went out the window. In January, the president was asked why he didn’t reach out to more moderate Republicans about voting rights — instead of just relying on Democratic votes.
“I was trying to make sure we got everybody on the same page in my party on this score. And I didn’t call many Republicans at all,” Biden said.
Now, having alienated Republicans and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) — at least on his Build Back Better plan — most of Biden’s agenda remains stalled in Congress.
Meanwhile, inflation is hovering near a 40-year-high. And according to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of gas as of Thursday is $4.97, up nearly $2 from a year ago.
While these problems did not originate with Biden, his policies did not help — though he believes they are helping.
But trying to act in the bipartisan manner he promised, Biden and his administration plan to harden their attacks on Republicans.
Biden can try doubling down on his strategy from the past year, but if he’s frustrated his poll numbers are lower than Trump’s, he can expect to seethe for a few more years.