… Biden has been explicit about taking a different approach to the presidency than Donald Trump did. But my impression is that Biden and his advisers also believed he would be more effective than Barack Obama was, because conservative White voters would feel less threatened by him and congressional Republicans would be more willing to work with a longtime former colleague.
Nope. Biden’s approval rating is about 42 percent, while about 53 percent of likely voters disapprove of him, according to the FiveThirtyEight polling average. That’s not much better than Trump’s standing at the same point in his presidency, when about 42 percent approved and 54 percent disapproved. Obama wasn’t as unpopular until the fifth year of his presidency. …
I’m focusing on approval ratings for two reasons. First, because they are one of the few tangible pieces of data that we have across presidencies. Second, because they matter. When presidents become more unpopular, the media covers them more negatively, and other politicians, particularly politicians from their own party, feel freer to criticize them — which tends to make them even more unpopular. Presidential unpopularity creates a self-reinforcing cycle. CONTINUED
Perry Bacon Jr., Washington Post
The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is a concise daily rundown of significant new poll results and insightful analysis. It’s FREE. Sign up here: opiniontoday.substack