Biden’s approval rating drops to 43 percent after Afghanistan fallout: poll

President Biden’s approval rating dropped to 43 percent amid the fallout of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released Thursday.

Biden’s new approval is 6 points below NPR’s August poll, which had the president’s approval rating at 49 percent.

The president’s approval rating is largely driven by softening support among Democrats and independents.

Thirty-six percent of independents approve of the job Biden is doing, compared to 55 percent who disapprove. Meanwhile, 85 percent of Democrats approve of Biden’s job handling, compared to 13 percent who disapprove.

The president’s approval rating dipped below 50 percent over multiple polls after the Taliban overthrew the Afghan government in mid-August. A separate Morning Consult Poll released Monday had the president’s approval rating at 48 percent.  

The conflict in Afghanistan came to an end last week after all U.S. troops withdrew, ending America’s longest war. The U.S. evacuated more than 124,000 people from Afghanistan, including about 5,500 Americans.

The president defended the withdrawal in a fiery speech Tuesday, saying the effort was an “extraordinary success.”

“I was not going to extend this forever war, and I was not extending a forever exit,” Biden said.

Still, the Biden administration has come under flak for the chaotic evacuation process, which was highlighted by harrowing scenes at Kabul’s international airport. Notably, an attack by a branch of ISIS outside the airport’s gate left 13 U.S. service members dead.

The administration is also working to evacuating the roughly 200 Americans who remained in Afghanistan after the last troops left.

Sixty-one percent of voters disapprove of how Biden handled the withdrawal, Morning Consult found. This includes 94 percent of Republicans, 71 percent of independents and 26 percent of Democrats.

However, 71 percent of Americans say that the U.S.’s role in Afghanistan was a “failure,” while 20 percent labeled it a success. A separate 9 percent were unsure.

The poll surveyed 1,241 adults between Aug. 26-31, 2021. It has a margin of sampling error of 3.8 percentage points.