Biden’s approval dips to new low as independents sour on his leadership – By Matt Loffman (PBS Newshour) / December 20, 2021
As President Joe Biden heads into the end of the year, he’s facing a sour reality: The number of Americans who approve of his performance has hit a new low. Just 41 percent of Americans approve of the job he has been doing as president, according to a new PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll. Support among independents alone dropped eight points in a week.
Overall, more than half – 55 percent – of Americans disapprove of Biden’s performance, including 44 percent who strongly disapprove. His disapproval ratings have jumped 20 points since he took office, reaching a record high this month. The number who strongly disapprove jumped 6 points since a Marist poll conducted just one week earlier.
Biden is likely feeling the heat over a trifecta of concerns troubling Americans this holiday season, according to Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute of Public Opinion. Those fears include rising prices as inflation nears a 40-year high, the omicron variant threatening to compound the latest surge of coronavirus cases, and Biden’s legislative agenda stalling in Congress.
Build Back Better, Biden’s signature proposal, was dealt a significant blow Sunday. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., citing concerns about the national debt and rising inflation, said he would not vote for it, which will kill the bill’s chances to pass in the evenly divided Senate.
