A recent Gallup poll highlights a substantial drop in Joe Biden’s approval rating within his own party, bringing it to the lowest point in Biden’s “presidency”. The data illustrates an 11-point decline in just one month, a significant shift that has ignited discussions among political analysts and commentators regarding its potential implications for the Democrat Party in 2024.
The Gallup poll points to a decline in Biden’s approval rating among Democrats, dropping from 90% in August to 79% in September. This decline is particularly remarkable, as presidents usually receive strong support from their party, especially during their first term.
Biden’s overall approval rating dipped from 41 percent in September to 37 percent in October. Among independent voters, approval decreased from 39 percent to 35 percent, while Republican support remained unchanged at 5 percent.
Analysts suggest that the Democrats are concerned by the administration’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, the sky-rocketing inflation, and the looming war in the Middle-East.
From Gallup:
The latest downturn in Biden’s job rating, from an Oct. 2-23 Gallup poll, comes in the wake of the Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel by Hamas militants that resulted in at least 1,400 deaths and more than 200 kidnappings. The attack by Hamas precipitated a counteroffensive by Israel, which has resulted in an estimated 5,000 deaths in Gaza thus far while also setting off a humanitarian crisis.
Immediately after the attack, Biden pledged “rock solid and unwavering” support for Israel from the U.S., and he subsequently visited the country on Oct. 18 to reiterate that message. But Biden has faced criticism from some members of his party for aligning too closely with Israel and not doing enough for the Palestinians. Some prominent Democratic lawmakers and protesters around the U.S. have called for Biden to do more to help the millions of Palestinians who are in need of humanitarian aid as Israel attempts to eradicate Hamas.
Early this year, Gallup found that for the first time in the U.S., Democrats’ sympathies for the Palestinians outpaced those for the Israelis. Although the survey is not designed to allow for statistically reliable estimates for any subset of the three-week polling period, the daily results strongly suggest that Democrats’ approval of Biden fell sharply in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas and Biden’s promise of full support for Israel on the same day. Biden’s current 75% approval rating among Democrats is well below the 86% average from his own party throughout his presidency.
…Biden’s immediate and decisive show of support for Israel following the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas appears to have turned off some in his own party, resulting in Democrats’ worst assessment of the president since he took office. Biden’s overall approval rating likewise matches his personal low. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict comes at a time when Americans remain pessimistic about the economy, the Biden administration is struggling to deal with increasing numbers of migrants attempting to enter the country, and debate continues about how much aid to provide to Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Biden and the Democrat Party cannot afford to lose even a fraction of their voters to independent progressive contenders such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West next year.
A recent poll, as reported by Fox this week, indicates that both Kennedy and West are siphoning off a number of points from both Biden and President Trump.
According to the Suffolk University/USA Today poll released Monday, 37% of registered voters said they would support Biden and 36% said they would support Trump. However, independent presidential candidates Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Cornel West also garnered significant support — 13% and 4% respectively.
The support for Kennedy came largely from independent voters (23%), but he also drew large chunks of support from Republicans (9%) and Democrats (7%). West did the same with Democrats (6%) and independents (5%), as well as 2% of Republicans.
