We're often reminded that as bad as President Joe Biden's approval ratings are, at least they're not as bad as his predecessor, former President Donald Trump. That's no longer always the case, though, as some polls have found. According to Rasmussen's Daily Presential Tracking Poll, Biden was at a 43 percent approval rating for October 8 among likely voters, with a 56 disapproval rating. In comparison, Trump was at a 46 percent approval rating for October 6, 2017 and a 53 percent disapproval rating.
1st Term Presidential Job Approval % - Oct 7th
— Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) October 7, 2021
2017
10/7/09 - Barack Obama - 49%
10/7/17 - Donald Trump - 46%
10/7/21 - Joe Biden - 43% https://t.co/KUBYQ5mJUh pic.twitter.com/kwAn7kZFFl
The daily tracker also points to Biden's total approval index. With 23 percent of likely voters saying they "strongly approve" of the job Biden is doing, and 47 percent saying they "strongly disapprove," this gives the president a Presidential Approval Index rating of -24.
For Trump, on October 6, 2017 that Presidential Approval Index rating was at -16.
This plurality of voters who say they "strongly disapprove" of Biden's job performance is consistent with other polls as well.
Rasmussen Reports touts itself as "the only nationally recognized public opinion firm that still tracks President Biden's job approval ratings on a daily basis."
For daily presidential tracking results, Rasmussen Reports notes that these results "are collected via telephone surveys of 500 likely voters per night and reported on a three-day rolling average basis. To reach those who have abandoned traditional landline telephones, Rasmussen Reports uses an online survey tool to interview randomly selected participants from a demographically diverse panel." For the full 1,500 likely voter sample, the margin of error is at plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
Recommended
This is not the only poll to show Biden performing more poorly than Trump. As we covered last month, a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll shared with The Hill 48 percent of respondents had a favorable view of Trump, compared to 46 percent who did of Biden. And, 49 percent had an unfavorable view of Biden, while 47 percent did of Trump. Voters also said Trump was a better president than Biden has been, 51 to 49 percent.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member