March 28, 2024 11:49 AM
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Biden approval rises sharply ahead of midterms: AP-NORC poll – Associated Press

President Joe Biden’s popularity improved substantially from his lowest point this summer, but concerns about his handling of the economy persist, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Support for Biden recovered from a low of 36% in July to 45%, driven in large part by a rebound in support from Democrats just two months before the November midterm elections. During a few bleak summer months when gasoline prices peaked and lawmakers appeared deadlocked, the Democrats faced the possibility of blowout losses against Republicans.

Their outlook appears better after notching a string of legislative successes that left more Americans ready to judge the Democratic president on his preferred terms: “Don’t compare me to the Almighty. Compare me to the alternative.”

The president’s approval rating remains underwater, with 53% of U.S. adults disapproving of him, and the economy continues to be a weakness for Biden. Just 38% approve of his economic leadership as the country faces stubbornly high inflation and Republicans try to make household finances the axis of the upcoming vote.

Still, the poll suggests Biden and his fellow Democrats are gaining momentum right as generating voter enthusiasm and turnout takes precedence.

Average gas prices have tumbled 26% since June to $3.71 a gallon, reducing the pressure somewhat on family budgets even if inflation remains high. Congress also passed a pair of landmark bills in the past month that could reshape the economy and reduce carbon emissions.

Republicans have also faced resistance since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and its abortion protections. And Biden is openly casting former President Donald Trump as a fundamental threat to democracy, a charge that took on resonance after an FBI search of Trump’s Florida home found classified documents that belong to the U.S. government.
This combination of factors has won Biden some plaudits among the Democratic faithful, even if Americans still feel lukewarm about his leadership.

“I’m not under any belief that he’s the best person for the job — he’s the best from the people we had to choose from,” said Betty Bogacz, 74, a retiree from Portland, Oregon. “He represented stability, which I feel President Trump did not represent at all.”
Biden’s approval rating didn’t exceed 40% in May, June or July as inflation surged in the aftermath of Russia invading Ukraine. But his string of wins over the past month continued on Thursday, after the poll was conducted, when he announced a tentative deal between railways and unions that avoided a strike that could have shut down the railroads and devastated the economy.

The president’s rating now is similar to what it was throughout the first quarter of the year, but he continues to fall short of early highs. His average approval rating in AP-NORC polling through the first six months of his term was 60%.

Driving the recent increase in Biden’s popularity is renewed support among Democrats, who had shown signs of dejection in the early summer. Now, 78% of Democrats approve of Biden’s job performance, up from 65% in July. Sixty-six percent of Democrats approve of Biden on the economy, up from 54% in June.

Interviews suggest a big reason for Biden’s rebound is the reemergence of Trump on the national stage, causing voters such as Stephen Jablonsky, who labeled Biden as “OK,” to say voting Democratic is a must for the nation’s survival.

“The country has a political virus by the name of Donald Trump,” said Jablonsky, a retired music professor from Stamford, Connecticut. “We have a man who is psychotic and seems to have no concern for law and order and democracy. The Republican Party has gone to a place that is so unattractive and so dangerous, this coming election in November could be the last election we ever have.”

Republicans feel just as negative about Biden as they did before. Only about 1 in 10 Republicans approve of the president overall or on the economy, similar to ratings earlier this summer.

Christine Yannuzzi, 50, doubts that 79-year-old Biden has the capacity to lead.

“I don’t think he’s mentally, completely aware of everything that’s happening all the time,” said Yannuzzi, who lives in Binghamton, New York. “The economy’s doing super poorly and I have a hard time believing that the joblessness rate is as low as they say it is.”

“I think the middle class is being really phased out and families are working two and three jobs a person to make it,” the Republican added.

Twenty-nine percent of U.S. adults say the economy is in good shape, while 71% say it’s doing poorly. In June, 20% said conditions were good and 79% said they were bad.
Democrats are more positive now than they were in June, 46% vs. 31%. Republicans remain largely negative, with only 10% saying conditions are good and 90% saying they’re bad.

About a quarter of Americans now say things in the country are headed in the right direction, 27%, up from 17% in July. Seventy-two percent say things are going in the wrong direction.
Close to half of Democrats — 44% — have an optimistic outlook, up from 27% in July. Just 9% of Republicans are optimistic about the nation’s direction.

Akila Atkins, a 27-year-old stay-at-home mom of two, thinks Biden is “OK” and doesn’t have much confidence that his solutions will curb rising prices.

Atkins says it’s gotten a little harder in the last year to manage her family’s expenses, and she’s frustrated that she can no longer rely on the expanded child tax credit. The tax credit paid out monthly was part of Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package and has since lapsed.

The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that the expanded tax credit nearly halved the child poverty rate last year to 5.2%. Atkins said it helped them “stay afloat with bills, the kids’ clothing, shoes, school supplies, everything.”
Whatever misgivings the Democrat in Grand Forks, North Dakota, has about Biden, she believes he is preferable to Trump.

“I always feel like he could be better, but then again, he’s better than our last president,” she said.
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The poll of 1,054 adults was conducted Sep. 9-12 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of President Joe Biden at https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden.

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7 Responses

  1. FACT: The “AmeriSpeak Panel” is NOT a random sampling of the US Population. It is an “invitation only” panel of people that are, ahem, nod, nod, wink, wink, supposed to represent the US Population. (DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!!)

    Hmmmm, a “selected panel” of people that “speak for America”.

    Sounds like a great idea!!
    With the best of intentions (NOT)!!
    What could POSSIBLY go wrong??

    FACT: For a poll to be useful for statistical inferences, it MUST use true random sampling with no exception. Random sampling means everyone in the US has an equal chance of selection. Sorry, “invitation only” doesn’t even come close.

    Invitation only = manipulated for political purposes.

    FACT: NORC (National Opinion Research Center) is an affiliate of The University of Chicago. While The University of Chicago used to be a superb center of educational excellence, particularly in Economics and Econometrics, it has been infested by Radical Left parasites.

    FACT: All AP-NORC polls are designed to help the Radical Left steal money from hard-working, honest, value-added Americans.

    1. If you go on the web you will find numerous sites that show combined (averaged polls) for a variety of subjects, including President Biden’s approval numbers. Those averaged polls show the same results as the AP-Norco poll.

      1. None of the other polls use random sampling, so they are just as useless and/or manipulative.

        FACT: to use a sample to make statistical inferences on a population, the sample MUST be random. Everyone gets an equal opportunity to be selected. There is no other way.

        FACT: a “selected panel” is NOT a random sample. It never will be.

        FACT: no mainstream media or Leftist organization uses random sampling. If they did, they’d have to hide the result.

        There you have it…

  2. Today, Joe Biden pitched a fit about the 50 Illegal Aliens sent by Ron DeSantis to the #1 Radical Left Enclave in America: Marxist’s Vineyard. He said this fine example of gubernatorial pushback against the complete failure of the Biden Administration to secure the Southern Border is, somehow, “un-American”. Hey, that’ll help Joe Biden in the AP-NORC polls, right? Not!

    The Radical Left Clowns that infest Marxist’s Vineyard started to spin around and howl at the sky when the planes landed and sent the 50 folks into the center of town (presumably Edgartown or Vineyard Haven). They’re now calling it a “humanitarian crisis”. The Clown Governor of California calls it “kidnapping”. Pathetic!

  3. NEWS FLASH
    The 50 illegal aliens have been put on a bus and taken off Marxist’s Vineyards and sent to a Cape Cod air base. So much for the Virtue Signalling Signs all over Marxist’s Vineyards that say:

    NO HUMAN IS ILLEGAL
    WE STAND WITH IMMIGRANTS
    WE STAND WITH REFUGEES
    ALL ARE WELCOME HERE

    The Radical Leftists that infest Martha’s Vineyards are total hypocrites and filthy liars. Sad!

    I hope DeSantis sends more. Thousands of them. I hope Kari Lake becomes Governor and does exactly the same. Send them to Medina WA, Issaquah WA, the snooty neighborhoods in Portland Seattle, Whidbey Island WA, Lopez Island WA, Sedona AZ, Santa Fe NM, Taos NM, Jackson Hole WY and every other Leftist Enclave in the USA.

    Maybe send a few thousand to Leftist Cities in Canada to allow them to STAND WITH IMMIGRANTS too.

    Let the Radical Leftists feel the consequences of their beloved open borders, then we’ll all see their true colors. Pathetic!

    1. I am completely A-political, I will call foul wherever I see it. I am stunned by the heartlessness of the Republican politicians and their supporters. Helpless people, including women and children, are sent to a place they never even knew existed just to make political points. The border is no more open today than it was when President Trump left office. People who cross the border are committing a federal misdemeanor, they are primarily people trying to get out of really crappy countries. When they are taken into custody (most of the migrants interdicted at the border are there giving themselves up to authorities to ask for asylum) they are processed following federal immigration law. The migrants were taken to an air base after receiving support from the locals, to be housed and evaluated for their ultimate destination as as well as health needs etc…I wish the countries below us on this continent weren’t so miserable. But, the U.S. is a wild success and people who are struggling want to be part of that success. They are not criminals coming to steal, they are looking for work, safety and a better life. Just like the Puritans that came to anew continent in search of a better life. They are not pawns to be used for heartless political stunts.

  4. So let’s see. If the Federal government puts illegal aliens on a plane and sends them to rural Missouri or Minnesota or Colorado, that is A-OK, but if someone puts them on a plane for some place infested by Radical Leftists, well that is “heartlessness” or a “humanitarian crisis”. Sorry, you can’t have your Kate and Edith too.

    FACT: the open borders allow criminals and FENTANYL to flood into the country. The resulting toll on Americans including rape, murder, arson & rape and TENS OF THOUSANDS of deaths by Fentanyl POISONING is absolutely incalculable. The Democrats refusal to put an end to it is the true definition of heartlessness.

    FACT: people that support open borders should pay an equal share of the associated costs. But of course, they don’t see it that way in Marxist’s Vineyard or Sedona or Seattle. Heck no, they want to feel good about their pathetic virtue signalling and supporting open borders and hordes of people coming across the border but THEY WANT TO DUMP THE COST OFF ON OTHERS. Sorry, you can’t have your Kate and Edith too.

    FACT: many people that invade the Southern border claim asylum because of some perceived threat at home. Yet, it’s crystal clear, many of them eventually visit their home country to see relatives, take vacations and the like. That means their asylum claim was fraudulent (i.e. there was NO threat, they lied) and as a result they are stealing money from the US Taxpayer.

    FACT: there is LEGAL IMMIGRATION and there is ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. The Republican Party has always welcomed legal immigrants with open arms. Illegal immigrants break the law and should be pushed back into Mexico and told to go home and APPLY LEGALLY. Ooh, ooh, but it’s only a Federal misdemeanor and that makes it OK and hey let’s be sure to hide the fact that many illegal aliens go on to commit heinous felonies and/or game the system at the expense of the US Taxpayer.

    “The border is no more open today than it was when President Trump left office. ” Yeah, right, Whoopie Goldberg and Don Lemon said so and even Kamala Harris said so during one of her many imaginary visits to the border. Some people speaketh with forked tongue.

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