President Joe Biden sorely needs a win, as reminded by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) who demanded that Democrats do not embarrass him, as Spencer reported earlier. The president is down considerably in the polls, including when it comes to this very issue. According to a poll released Wednesday from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, a plurality of Americans disapprove of how Biden and Democrats have handled the spending bill. Fewer than half know a lot or some about the proposal.
As mentioned in a write-up for the Associated Press from Kevin Freking and Hannah Fingerhut, 36 percent approve of Biden's handling, while 41 percent disapprove, and 23 percent say they neither approve nor disapprove.
When it comes to how the Democrats are handling the negotiations, the numbers are somewhat similar. Thirty percent approve, while 44 percent disapprove, and 25 percent neither approve nor disapprove.
36% approve of how Biden is handling negotiations of the spending bill. The public gives Congressional Democrats higher marks than Congressional Republicans. https://t.co/eVrJpa86jf pic.twitter.com/3mUYnI4b70
— AP-NORC Center (@APNORC) October 28, 2021
Just 18 percent approve of how Republicans are handling the negotiations, while 49 percent disapprove and 32 percent neither approve nor disapprove.
Republicans are expected to be united in their opposition to the spending bill, though they have sounded the alarm when it comes to their numerous concerns.
The write-up highlights comments from Democrats who are less than impressed about the president's handling. "I don’t place all the blame on him, but I think that, as a president, as a commander-in-chief, I think he could be doing a lot more to get people on board with his plan," Gary Hines, 65, is quoted as saying. He does support various elements of the plan, though.
In other words, the buck stops with Biden. At least it's supposed to.
President Biden's handling of negotiations have been heavy on the fanfare but haven't amounted to much when it comes to results. Earlier this month, he showed up for a meeting with House Democrats. What resulted was a delayed vote on infrastructure.
When the president showed up to the Capitol again earlier today, after the poll was released, it was to announce a deal had been reached on a bill when at the time there was merely a framework. The 1,684 page bill text came afterwards. Biden did not take questions from the press and continued on his way so as to leave for a trip to Europe.
The poll also noted that for the first time according to their specific polling, Biden is underwater when it comes to his handling of the economy, with 58 percent disapproving and 41 percent approving.
Those approval numbers are similar to the RealClearPolitics (RCP) average for Biden's handling of the economy. For polls from September 15-October 26, Biden has a 42.1 approval rating. His disapproval rating for his handling of the economy is lower though with RCP, at 51.8 percent.
Not only do fewer Americans say the country is headed in the right direction, about one-third compared to about half earlier this year, but more say it will likely get worse. Just 26 percent say the country will improve in the next year, while 48 percent say it will worsen.
The poll was conducted October 21-25 with 1,083 adults and a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
