A recently conducted poll shows that U.S. President Joe Biden's approval rating has now dropped to a new low. The poll, conducted by USA Today and Suffolk University, shows Biden's rating drop to around 38% from the high 40s in previous polls.
The drop in Biden's rating comes after weeks of political conflict over the president's agenda and his party's loss in Virginia.
Biden's approval rating has been on the slide for many weeks. This has partly been caused by the recent spread of the delta variant, which had thrown a wrench into his administration's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden's decision to pull out from Afghanistan had also received bipartisan criticism, affecting public perception.
According to the latest USA Today-Suffolk University poll, 46% of those polled say Biden is doing a poorer job as president than predicted, including 16% of those who voted for him last year. Around 44% of respondents believe he is underperforming, not outperforming, their expectations. The poll involved a total of 1,000 registered voters contacted through mobile and telephone. The results have a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
That unpopularity is already having an influence on Biden's reelection prospects in 2024. According to the survey, 64% of respondents, including 28% of Democrats, do not want him to run for reelection. Meanwhile, 58% of people, including 24% of Republicans, indicated they don't want former President Trump to run for president.
The survey was released after Democrats had incurred terrible losses in Virginia, as Republicans won the governorship, lieutenant governorship, and attorney general elections. In the headline political contest viewed as a possible precursor of November elections, Republican challenger Glenn Youngkin defeated former Virginia Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe by around 68,000 votes.
The poll's release also comes just before Democrats passed Biden's infrastructure bill and social spending package. The $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure proposal was passed by the House late Friday night, and it is now on its way to Biden for final approval. The passing of the bill was a huge win for the Biden administration.
The party is now concentrating its efforts on passing the Build Back Better Act, a $1.75 trillion social spending plan that is the second element of Biden's legislative agenda. The package includes money to boost healthcare and education initiatives and a $500 million budget to combat climate change.
