U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the 13th anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 23, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
President Joe Biden‘s approval rating dipped in a new poll released Thursday, approaching an all-time low for that survey as Americans give the Democrat poor marks on how he has handled the economy.
Only 38% of respondents said they approve of the job Biden is doing, versus 61% who said they disapprove, according to the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. The president’s approval in March fell from 45% in February and 41% in January, according to the survey.
The AP-NORC poll was conducted from March 16 to March 20 and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
The numbers reflect Americans’ dissatisfaction with how the president has handled key issues, including the economy and foreign policy. Biden has aimed in recent months to highlight economic plans he helped to pass and implement during his first term as he gears up for a potential run for reelection next year.
The new poll suggests he may have more work to do to sell his first term in office as a success. Less than a third of Americans, 31%, approve of Biden’s handling of the economy, according to the poll.
Even Democrats, 76% of whom approve of the overall job Biden is doing, are less supportive of his handling of the economy. Only 63% of respondents from his party approve of how he is managing the economy, the survey found.
It’s a leap from Republicans though: Only 4% approve of what Biden is doing as president, and 3% approve his handling of the economy.
He received slightly better marks on foreign policy, as 39% of Americans offered their approval.
Americans are also less optimistic about the direction of the country than they were last month. Only 21% expressed optimism, down from 28% a month ago.
Biden’s all-time low approval of 36% in the AP-NORC poll was in July of last year. At the time, Americans were increasingly dissatisfied with the state of the economy as gas prices soared. The low mark also came on the heels of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the federal right to an abortion.