Biden approval ratings dragged down by plunge among independents, poll shows

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President Biden's approval rating among Americans stands in negative territory at 43%, a drop of six points in just one month, according to a new Gallup poll.

The survey, which was released on Wednesday, indicates that the deterioration in the president’s numbers is being fueled by a plunge in approval among independents. And Biden’s approval is lower at this point in his presidency than any of his most recent predecessors, except for then-President Trump.

Biden stands at 43% approval and 53% disapproval in the poll, which was conducted Sept. 1-17. That’s down from a 49%-48% approval/disapproval rating in Gallup's Aug. 2-17 survey. The president stood at 56%-42% in Gallup’s June poll.

WHERE BIDEN STANDS IN THE LATEST FOX NEWS NATIONAL POLL

The president's flagging numbers come in the wake of Biden's much criticized handling of the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan. And it also comes amid a surge in COVID cases this summer among mainly unvaccinated people due to the spread of the highly infectious delta variant, as the nation struggles to combat the coronavirus, the worst pandemic to strike the globe in a century.

While overwhelming approval of Biden by Democrats and overwhelming disapproval by Republicans has remained steady this summer, the poll points to a big drop in approval by independents. 

"Independents have shown the greatest variation in their opinions of how Biden is doing. Biden's current 37% approval rating among independents is his lowest to date and 24 points below his personal high of 61%. Two-thirds of Biden's slide among independents since he took office has occurred in the past three months," Gallup highlighted in a release.

BIDEN'S APPROVAL RATINGS NOSEDIVE IN IMPORTANT HEARTLAND BATTLEGROUND STATE

While the president’s overall approval rating of 43% is higher than Trump’s 37% approval in Gallup polling in September of 2017 – at a similar point in his presidency – Biden trails behind his other most recent predecessors.

President Barack Obama stood at 52% in Gallup polling in September of 2009, and Bill Clinton registered 47% support at this point in 1993. George W. Bush stood at 52% approval, according to Gallup at the beginning of September 2001, but his numbers shot up to 90% later that month, in the wake of the horrific 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Biden is at 42%-50% approval/disapproval in a national poll from Quinnipiac University, which was conducted Sept. 10-13. 

But the president was treading water, at 50% approval and 49% disapproval, in a Fox News national poll conducted on Sept. 12-15 and released on Sunday. Biden stood at 53%-46% in the previous Fox News poll, which was conducted in early August.

The presidential approval rating has long been a much watched barometer of a president's clout and how well his party may perform in the ensuing midterm elections. Democrats will be defending their razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate in next year's midterms.

Gallup highlighted that the bottom line from their latest survey is that "Biden's latest approval rating further cements the fact that the honeymoon phase of his presidency is behind him. Political independents, who were part of the coalition that helped him defeat Trump in 2020, now largely disapprove of the job he is doing as president."

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The Gallup poll also asked respondents to evaluate how Vice President Kamala Harris was handling her duties in office. According to the survey, Harris stands at 49% approval and 49% disapproval.

Gallup questioned 1,005 adults nationwide. The survey’s overall sampling error was plus or minus four percentage points.