President Joe Biden’s approval rating fell in May to its lowest point since he took office.
According to a poll published by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Research, only 39% of adults in the U.S. approve of Biden’s performance as president.
Overall, only about two in ten adults believe the U.S. is heading in the right direction or that the economy is in a good condition. Fox News reported that in April, about three in ten adults believed both. These drops in favorability were largely concentrated among Democratic voters with just 33% of the president’s own party believing that the country was headed in the right direction, down from 49% in April.
Among Democrats, Biden’s overall approval sits at 73% which indicates a drop from 82% in the same poll from last year. In 2021, Biden never dropped below 82% approval.
Last year, a similar poll conducted by the Associated Press showed Biden had an approval rating of 63% which is 24 points higher than his current approval rating.
Biden’s handling of the economy is one of the largest reasons for his dismal poll numbers as two-thirds of Americans are saying they disapprove of the way his administration has presided over the situation.
According to the poll, only 18% of Americans say that Biden’s policies have helped the economy more than they have hurt it, which is down from 24% in March. At the same time, 51% of Americans say that his economic policies have hurt the economy more than they have helped and 30% of respondents say that Biden’s policies have not made a difference on way or the other.
Biden’s performance in the polls has been slipping since January as several polls conducted across the political spectrum indicate Americans are increasingly frustrated with a wide range of issues stemming from record high gas prices and historic levels of inflation to a nationwide baby formula shortage.
Biden’s poll numbers have suffered hits from constituencies that have historically been reliable voting blocs for Democrats. A recent Quinnipiac poll suggested that Biden’s approval among Hispanics has fallen to 26%, but whether this will affect voting trends remains to be seen. The same Quinnipiac poll conducted a year ago had Hispanic support for Biden at 55%.
The plummeting approval numbers are not confined to Biden, however. Recent polls indicate that Americans are prepared to oust Democrats from Congress. 39% of respondents favored generic Democratic candidates with 46% of respondents favoring generic Republican candidates.