Biden approval rating holds underwater, just 28% say America heading in right direction: poll

Though his party beat expectations in the 2022 midterm elections, President Biden’s approval rating is still underwater, and the vast majority of Americans do not like the direction the country is moving, according to a new poll.

An AP-NORC survey released Thursday finds that 71% of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, while only 28% think the United States is moving in the right direction. The numbers show persistent, widespread dissatisfaction with the state of the county and the economy.

Biden’s approval rating remains negative but is unchanged from last month’s AP-NORC poll. Overall, 43% of the public approve of the job Biden is doing while 55% disapprove.

With inflation expected to continue into next year and fears of a recession mounting on Wall Street, nearly three in four Americans describe the economy as poor. However, a majority, 57%, say their personal finances are in good shape.

‘Partisan differences persist when it comes to views of the national economy,’ the pollsters said. ‘Republicans have an extremely negative view of the condition of country’s economy, while Democrats are more closely divided. However, most people, regardless of party identification, regard their own financial situation positively.’ 

The AP-NORC poll was a nationwide survey of 1,124 adults conducted via online and telephone interviews from Dec. 1-5, 2022. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points. 

The poll comes after Democrats defied historic trends in the 2022 midterm elections. With all incumbent Democratic senators re-elected and Democrat John Fetterman’s victory over Republican Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, the party gained one Senate seat and will now hold a 51-49 majority in the chamber. Democrats lost the House of Representatives but managed to hold Republicans to a slim 222-seat majority, an astounding accomplishment given an unpopular Democratic president in the White House and a souring economy. 

Buoyed by one of the best midterm election performances for a first-term president in U.S. history, Biden advisers say the president fully intends to seek re-election in 2024 and has the full support of his family.   

A day after the midterms, the president, who is 80, said it is his ‘intention’ to run, and said he is a ‘great respecter of fate,’ and stressed the importance of his family’s support—specifically first lady Jill Biden—in his decision-making.

White House chief of staff Ron Klain predicted this week that the president will decide over the holidays whether to run again but said he fully expects him to announce a 2024 campaign.

‘I expect it shortly after the holidays,’ Klain said during the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit. ‘But I expect the decision will be to do it.’

Former President Trump has already announced he will seek the Republican nomination for president in 2024 to challenge Biden. Trump would be 78 on Election Day in 2024.  

A number of Republicans, including former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and others, have signaled their interest in challenging Trump for the nomination to take on Biden. 

Fox News’ Brooke Singman, Peter Doocy, and Patrick Ward contributed to this report.