The White House is boasting that Joe Biden’s approval rating is climbing—now that he is no longer running for the presidency. A poll by Suffolk University has 47.6 percent of respondents giving a favorable opinion of the 81-year-old, against 48.9 percent giving an unfavorable opinion.
While an improvement on Biden’s abysmal ratings while he was still the Democratic candidate, this is still a net negative rating, despite 48 percent of poll respondents identifying as Biden voters, against 41.6 percent Donald Trump voters.
The improvement in Biden’s public standing appears to be directly linked to the fact he is bowing out of politics, with 84.2 percent of respondents saying Biden’s withdrawal from the race was “the right thing to do.”
Opinions on Vice President Kamala Harris replacing Biden as the Democratic nominee without a primary contest are less clear-cut. Fifty-four percent say her elevation was “the right thing for Democrats to do,” but a sizeable minority of 40.6 percent disagree.
Despite likely Harris voters having high enthusiasm, approval of the job she is doing as Vice President is weak. Only 28.1 percent “approve” of her record, with another 18.6 percent who “strongly approve.” Meanwhile, 12.3 percent “disapprove,” and a plurality of 34.1 percent “strongly disapprove.”
Biden actually has stronger numbers than Harris in terms of job approval, with 30.2 percent answering “approve” and 17.7 percent answering “strongly approve.”
THE ISSUES.
Despite Harris having the edge in terms of overall voting intention, with 47.6 percent of respondents leaning Harris against 43.3 percent leaning Trump, the America First leader outpolls Biden’s deputy on many key issues.
An outright majority of respondents believe Trump would perform better on the economy, immigration, and national security, and a plurality believe he would do a better job dealing with China.
Harris only leads on healthcare and race relations.
