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Last Week the Media Gushed Over Biden's Approval Rating. Would They Like to Comment on This Week's Numbers?

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  August 31, 2022 10:15 AM

Last week, we highlighted how the media just absolutely gushed over what was President Joe Biden's highest poll ratings in almost three months, still at a not great 41 percent. Well, it turns out a week makes a lot of difference, as that same poll from Reuters/Ipsos now has Biden at close to the lowest of his presidency, with a 38 percent approval rating, while 58 percent disapprove. 

Such low approval ratings come after Biden announced a decision of executive overreach to "cancel" student loan debt, as well as after he made remarks at a DNC fundraiser disparaging Republicans and their philosophy as "semi-fascism." The White House and DNC have only continued to double down on that decisive and inflammatory rhetoric. 

Reuters, to its credit, published another piece by Jason Lange, highlighting how the poll reflects Biden's approval rating is now "holding near low end of his presidency."

Lange wasn't too kind in his write-up, either, as he wrote that the poll is "a poor sign for his Democratic Party's hopes in the Nov. 8 midterm elections." He also went on to acknowledge that "Democrats are expected to lose control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November and possibly the Senate as well," which is a refreshing acknowledgment considering Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media are trying to claim it's Democrats who have the upper hand not just in the Senate, but potentially the House as well, now. 

Another sobering point is brought up, reminding us that even with Biden's "high" of 41 percent from last week, he's been polling poorly for some time now:

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Biden's overall approval rating has been below 50% for over a year as Americans have grappled with high rates of inflation and an economy scarred by the COVID-19 health crisis. Biden's lowest ratings of 36% - in four weekly polls in May, June and July - rivaled the lows of his predecessor, Donald Trump, whose popularity bottomed out at 33% in December 2017.

Another habit of the mainstream media has been to overemphasize the abortion issue on a national scale, though in this poll particularly, it's not even a top issue for Democrats. As Lange lays out, with added emphasis:

For Republicans, the next most pressing problems were immigration and crime, each of which topped concerns for about one in 10 Republicans.

Among Democrats, about one in eight saw the environment as the top issue, and about one in 10 pointed to the end of national abortion rights. Reuters/Ipsos this week added abortion rights to a list of concerns for Americans to rank, a list that also includes immigration and healthcare, as the issue has attracted more attention since a June U.S. Supreme Court decision ending the nationwide constitutional right to abortion.

The poll was conducted online and completed on Tuesday, with 1,005 adults. Even more telling is how there were more Democrats, 449 of them, to the 357 Republicans.

While Lange did a follow-up piece on Biden's sinking approval numbers, it does not yet appear that the same can be said for the mainstream media outlets that lauded last week's numbers.