President Joe Biden’s approval rating has dipped below 50 percent, according to an NBC News poll.
It marks the first time that the president has fallen below 50 percent in that poll, which surveyed 790 registered voters and 210 adults who are not registered.
The poll shows Biden’s approval and disapproval to be nearly identical. Forty-nine percent approve of his job performance, while 48 percent disapprove. His approval is down four percent from an NBC poll conducted in April, though his disapproval has shot up a whopping nine percent.
According to NBC, Biden saw the largest declines in approval among whites, independents, and those who live in rural areas.
The continued approval slide comes amid a surge in the Delta variant of COVID-19, the disastrous withdrawal of American citizens and military personnel from Afghanistan, inflation concerns, and a porous U.S.-Mexico border.
NBC’s poll concomitantly reveals that just 29 percent of respondents believe the United States is “heading in the right direction,” down from 36 percent in April. In addition, only 22 percent believe the economy is satisfactory. Thirty-seven percent describe it as “only fair” and another 37 percent say it’s “poor.”
Jeff Horwitt, a Democratic pollster who helped conduct the survey, says the results demonstrate a “summer of discontent.” He claims, however, that the Delta variant is hurting Biden’s approval more than the botched Afghanistan withdrawal.
“The promise of April has led to the peril of August,” Horwitt told NBC News. “It is the domestic storm, Covid’s delta wave, that is causing more difficulties at this stage here at home and for President Biden.”
Alpha News has previously reported on a RealClearPolitics poll showing President Biden’s approval rating below 50 percent, so it should not come as a surprise that newer surveys are beginning to pick up on the trend as the Biden administration continues to struggle with multiple crises.
Evan Stambaugh
Evan Stambaugh is a freelance writer who had previously been a sports blogger. He has a BA in theology and an MA in philosophy.
