President Joe Biden may have hoped to return to the United States this week buoyed by what he considers a successful diplomatic trip abroad, but a new poll released just hours after he arrived back to the White House revealed some of his lowest approval ratings yet on key issues such as immigration and the economy that continue to drag down his administration.
While a majority of Democrats continue to support Biden, who enjoys a 75 percent approval rating among members of his party, only 41 percent of Democrats say the economy is “good,” the smallest number of 2023 according to the latest poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The president rushed from the G7 summit in Japan late Sunday to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) Monday on the debt ceiling. But while Biden and the White House say this shows the president is urgently delivering on his “build back better” promises, Americans aren't impressed. Biden's overall approval rating sits at a staggeringly low 40 percent, and Biden’s meeting on Monday ended, again, without a deal.
When it comes to the economy, a looming U.S. government debt default isn't the only reason for Biden’s 33 percent overall economic approval rating. Inflation, high gas prices, product shortages, and a difficult housing market all contribute to Americans’ lack of faith in the U.S. economy. Recent bank collapses have taken another toll, leaving only 11 percent of adults saying they have confidence in banks and financial institutions. The Associated Press interviewed a woman from West Texas who is feeling the consequences of Biden’s ineffective economic policies:
Zoie Mosqueda, 24, who does not identify with any political party, said her family is ready to buy their first home but with the average mortgage interest rate hovering around 6.9%, that goal, at least for now, is out of reach.
The economy isn't the only thing getting low approval ratings as Biden looks toward his 2024 re-election campaign. Both Immigration and gun policy hover at 31 percent in overall approval among Americans. Even Democrats are split on these issues, with around half of those surveyed disagreeing with how everything's been handled by Biden.
While Biden has given the appearance of action with numerous executive orders and speeches related to firearms, his policies continue to fail for entirely predictable reasons. Despite the White House’s insistence that the previous “assault weapons” ban reduced the number of crimes committed with firearms, the Department of Justice’s own study revealed there was no discernible difference made by the ban. Meanwhile, Biden has refused to consider policies to harden schools and other soft targets, a step that has been shown to be effective at deterring violent criminals. At the same time, Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies wielded by “progressive” district attorneys continue to return dangerous criminals to the streets where they often return to committing violent crimes.
On immigration, Americans gave Biden their lowest marks yet, with fewer than one-third — just 31 percent — saying they approve of his policies. The dismal approval for Biden’s immigration policies is unsurprising, as more Americans bear witness to the border crisis and learn of the record-setting number of encounters with illegal immigrants and “got-aways,” including a growing number of individuals matching those on terror watch lists.
The recent expiration of Title 42 — immigration restrictions implemented under former President Donald Trump as a public health measure to stop the spread of COVID-19 — put an exclamation point on the humanitarian and public safety crises Biden has allowed with his immigration policies. Since the end of Title 42, at least two illegal immigrant children have died in U.S. custody along the U.S.-Mexico border. But Biden, when asked while enjoying a recent weekend bike ride, said things at the border were going “much better” than people expected.
Showing the impact of Biden’s policies on more than his own approval, a shrinking number of Americans believe the country as a whole is moving in the right direction. An alarmingly low number of Americans — just 21 percent — think America is on the right track. Among Democrats, that number is still only 36 percent while seven percent of Republicans say America is moving in the right direction.
That is, even those who approve of Joe Biden’s efforts have to admit his indifference to real-world issues has left a post-pandemic America in disarray.