A Gallup poll released on Friday spells bad news for President Joe Biden, with the takeaway being he's hit a record low in popularity. "Biden Approval Drops to 50%, Lowest for Him to Date," reads Jeffrey M. Jones' headline in his write-up.
The poll was conducted via telephone with 1,007 adults from July 6-21, 2021. The margin of error is at plus or minus 4 percentage points.
This rating of 50 percent is not only the lowest it's been during his presidency, it's a six point drop from just last month, when his popularity was at 56 percent.
Jones piece is equally as, if not more so, grim than the title. It reads in part:
President Joe Biden's latest job approval rating of 50% is down from 56% in June. Before this month, his ratings had not shown meaningful variation during his time in office, and the current figure marks the lowest measured for him to date.
The new rating is from a July 6-21 Gallup poll, which also finds that 45% of U.S. adults disapprove of Biden's performance and 5% do not have an opinion. It comes at a time when U.S. progress in fighting the coronavirus has stalled, with vaccination rates slowing and case levels now rising. The economic recovery continues, with unemployment declining and stock market values near record highs. But consumers are paying higher prices for gas and other goods. Biden has also struggled to deliver on his promise of greater bipartisanship, although negotiations on an infrastructure bill continue in the Senate.
While Jones does acknowledge that there is "extreme party polarization," that's not anything new, as he goes on to note this "has become the norm for presidential approval in recent years." It's also not merely Americans overall who have a record low approval rating for Biden:
Currently, 90% of Democrats, 12% of Republicans and 48% of independents approve of the job Biden is doing. His ratings among Democrats and independents are the lowest to date among those groups. The new poll marks the first time he has less-than majority approval among independents.
Nevertheless, 90 percent is still high. In Jones' "Bottom Line," which also emphasizes a lack of support from Republicans and the dangers should this trend of dipping approval ratings continue, he also mentions that Biden "maintains very high approval among Democrats."
The poll also looks into Biden's second-quarter approval average, which is at 53.3 percent, though that is the result of just three polls, compared to the 88 for then President Donald Trump. Jones make it a point to note that, with its own header, "Presidents' Approval Usually Declines in the Third Quarter."
Of the 11 presidents listed with regards to their second-quarter approval average, starting with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Biden is third from the bottom. His average is above President Bill Clinton's approval of 44 percent, and President Donald Trump's 38.8 percent.