Biden approval drops to 43 percent in new poll

President Bidens’s approval rating is plunging deeper under water as voters’ confidence in the U.S. economy and the overall direction of the country wanes, according to a new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll released exclusively to The Hill. 

The poll, conducted from Oct. 26-28, found that 43 percent of respondents approved of the job Biden’s doing in the White House, down 5 points from a survey conducted in September. Meanwhile, 51 percent say they disapprove of the president’s job performance. Another 6 percent say they aren’t sure.

Biden’s approval rating has been falling since August, a trend that began amid a summer rise in new COVID-19 infections and the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. 

While the pandemic appears to be waning once again, Biden’s approval rating has yet to recover. Fifty-six percent of respondents now say that the country is on the wrong track. Additionally, 57 percent say they believe the strength of the U.S. economy is decreasing, according to the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll. 

The poll also found that a plurality of respondents — 37 percent — say their personal financial situation is getting worse. Earlier this year, the percentage of those who said their financial situation was improving was on the rise. 

“Biden’s ratings continue to fall and he essentially now is supported only by the Democratic base electorate,” said Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll. “His decline is being accelerated by the perceived decline in the economy, and so the administration’s rating on handling the economy and almost every issue declined.” 

Biden gets his lowest marks for his handling of the situation in Afghanistan. Only 33 percent say they approve of his actions there. 

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party overall fares even worse than the president. Thirty-eight percent of voters say they approve of the party’s performance, while 55 percent disapprove, according to the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll. 

Still, if Biden went up for reelection today and faced off against former President Trump, the two would be evenly matched. Forty-six percent of respondents say they would vote for Trump, while 45 percent would cast their ballots for Biden. Another 9 percent are undecided. 

The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll survey of 1,578 registered voters was conducted from Oct. 26-28. It is a collaboration of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University and the Harris Poll. 

The survey is an online sample drawn from the Harris Panel and weighted to reflect known demographics. As a representative online sample, it does not report a probability confidence interval.