OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
CNN was forced to admit on Friday that President Joe Biden’s approval rating is concerningly low.
Host John Berman and reporter Harry Enten detailed how Biden’s numbers are now the lowest ever for any president in the Quinnipiac, Hart/IPSOS, and CBS News polls.
Below is a transcript of the exchange:
BERMAN: “There is brand-new polling out on the presidential approval rating and it’s not good for President Biden. Joining us now, Harry Enten, CNN’s senior data reporter. These numbers are really tough.”
ENTEN: “You know, John, I don’t like just looking at one poll, I like looking at multiple polls. There were four different polls were released this week, Quinnipiac, we had a Hart/Public Opinion Strategy poll — that’s with NBC or CNBC —Ipsos/Reuters, CBS News/YouGov. And I want you to look, these numbers kind of differ, but they range from the low 30s to the low 40s — low 40s is not good either — but what’s key is, the lowest or tied to the low for the pollster, lowest here, lowest here, this is one point off the lowest, lowest here, and when you’re three of four pollsters showing the lowest numbers for the president of the United States, that is indicative of a president who is in a lot of trouble, at least to where he is standing historically.”
BERMAN: “Well, let’s talk about history here. How does Joe Biden, President Biden compare to former President Trump in this stage of the presidency?”
ENTEN: “You know, there was always this thing, ‘Oh, Donald Trump has the lowest approval rating at this point in his presidency.’ We did it over and over and over again. Well, at this point in his presidency, Donald Trump’s numbers, actually, his average approval rating is one point higher than Joe Biden’s, which is at 41%, Donald Trump at 42%. A first-term president at this point in his presidency, this is the lowest. This is the lowest for anyone who is elected to the presidency and didn’t get up there through the vice presidency. This is a really, really, really bad number.”
WATCH:
Biden’s poll numbers have plummeted so low that some Democrats are starting to hit the panic button.
“It’s bad,” an anonymous Democratic strategist said, according to The Hill. “You have an energy crisis that’s paralyzing and inflation is at a 40-year high and we’re heading into a recession. The problem is simple. The American people have lost confidence in him.”
“Everyone needs to come to terms with the reality that we’re going to get slaughtered in November,” the strategist reportedly continued. “That’s a fact. His polling has gotten worse, not better. It’s indicative of the fact that people have lost confidence in his leadership. There’s nothing they’re going to be able to do.”
Bill Galston, Chair of the Brookings Institutions governance study program and former domestic policy adviser to former President Bill Clinton, said, “unless and until inflation comes down appreciably, that there’s going to be a ceiling on his job approval that’s a lot lower than the White House wants it to be.”
Gallup senior editor Jeff Jones said, “high gas prices are one of the biggest anchors on presidential approval.”
voters are about to cancel the Democrats https://t.co/cN7ymEEzkZ
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 4, 2022
Another new survey has delivered more bad news for Biden and Democrats.
The NBC News survey, released on Sunday at the tail end of a gaffe-filled European trip that involved Biden visiting NATO to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion last month, found that the president’s approval had slipped to 40 percent, its lowest for that particular outlet since his inauguration.
In addition, the poll found an astounding 70 percent of Americans had little-to-no faith in Biden’s ability to deal with that conflict.
The Daily Mail continued:
Just 40 percent of respondents to NBC’s new poll say they approve of the president’s White House tenure, the lowest recorded by the outlet’s surveys so far. It fell three points from January.
What could be concerning for Biden’s re-election chances is a decline in approval among female voters, black voters, and Independents — demographics that were all key to his 2020 victory.
In addition, the survey asked respondents about “how much confidence” they had in Biden’s ability to deal with the Russian invasion. The lion’s share, or 44 percent, said they had “very little” faith in Biden, while only 27 percent said that had “just some” confidence, for a combination of 71 percent.
Only 28 percent of Americans polled said they share ‘a great deal’ or ‘quite a bit’ of support for Biden’s handling of Ukraine.
As for the NBC survey, a majority of respondents indicated that Biden’s actions so far have put the U.S. on a dangerous path toward direct conflict with Russia, despite the administration’s stated policy of preferring de-escalation via diplomacy.
The survey found that 16 percent of Americans said they believe the country is already at war with Russia based on the Biden administration’s handling of the situation. And 44 percent said they see the U.S. at war with Russia “within the next year.”
Meanwhile, only 34 percent believe the U.S. and Russia will avoid direct conflict.
While Biden and his administration have repeatedly said there will be no American boots on the ground in Ukraine, nearly three-quarters of respondents — 74 percent — don’t buy that.
And more than eight-in-ten said they believe such a war would go nuclear.
Also, most respondents do not believe the Biden administration’s claims that Russia is responsible for much of the inflation in America.
Biden is continuing to lose ground with women as well, with his approval among that demographic falling from 51 percent in January to 44 percent now.
Support among independents tanked 4 points to 32 percent, while support among blacks fell from 64 to 62 percent. During the same timeframe, support among Latinos fell from 48 percent in January to 39 percent now.
