Opinion polls have made it clear that Pres Joe Biden failed to resonate with American audiences.
On Friday, an NBC News report compared the current president’s approval ratings to those of his predecessor, Donald Trump, during their respective terms, revealing a significant disparity in the latter’s favor.
What happened: Only 14% of registered voters surveyed in a recent national NBC News poll said Biden did a better job as president than they expected. 42% thought the president fared worse than expected, and the remaining 44% said she did her job as president in line with their expectations.
The results pale in comparison to the numbers Trump received. A majority of 40% said Trump exceeded their expectations in terms of performance as president, compared to 29% of respondents who said his performance was worse than expected and 31% who said it was in line with expectations.
Interestingly, opinion of Trump’s role as president has improved significantly since 2018. In August 2018, about a year and a half after Trump took office, only 29% said his administration was doing better than expected. Twenty-seven percent said his presidency was worse than they expected, and 43% said the outcome was in line with expectations.
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What Biden is suffering: According to the report, the president has not gained favor with all factions of the Democratic Party. Eighteen percent of Democrats said Biden has fallen short of their expectations, while only 30% say he has performed beyond their expectations. 52% said Biden’s performance met their expectations.
On the other hand, Trump has rallied his party’s voters behind him. Eighty percent of Republican voters said the former president performed well beyond their expectations, and 24% said his tenure met their expectations. Only 6% said it was worse.
Independent voters also had a relatively better opinion of Trump than Biden. Among these demographics, 6% said the Biden administration performed better than expected and 52% said it performed worse. Meanwhile, 38% of independent voters said Trump’s presidency was better than their expectations, 43% said it was as expected and 18% said it was worse.
When asked for their opinions on Biden, respondents cited immigration, wars and the economy as reasons for their dissatisfaction. Some were concerned about his age and competence. Respondents were also concerned that the country was still divided.
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