Politics

Poll: Biden’s Approval Rating Hits Seven-Month Low

By CM Chaney · November 8, 2023

In brief…

Recent polls show Biden's approval rating at record low 39%
Trump leads Biden by wide margins in 5 of 6 key swing states for 2024
Biden campaign manager dismisses "snapshot" polls as not predictive
Maintains Biden still has time to rebound like past presidents

The Biden campaign remains defiantly optimistic about the president's reelection prospects next year despite his floundering approval and polls showing Trump ahead in most swing states. The White House / Wikimedia

President Joe Biden’s reelection team is dismissing his terrible polling numbers and seven-month low approval rating as merely a temporary “snapshot” of the current political climate. Two recent polls paint a dire picture for Biden’s chances in 2024.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday put Biden’s approval at just 39%, down from 42% in September. Meanwhile, a New York Times/Siena survey showed Biden trailing Republican frontrunner Donald Trump by sizable margins in 5 of 6 swing states critical to winning the White House.

Despite the gloomy outlook, Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez called the data insignificant.

“We’re a year out from the election, and so polling at this stage is not predictive,” she said Tuesday in Florida.

Rodriguez pointed to past presidents who rebounded from weak polling to win reelection, suggesting Biden could follow suit.

“We know that that’s really the trajectory that we’re on,” she said.

The Reuters poll reveals Biden’s approval in steady decline, dropping from 42% in September to 40% in October before hitting a new low of 39% now. The survey’s margin of error is around 3 percentage points.

The Times poll shows Trump leading Biden in Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania by 3% to 10%. Wisconsin is the only swing state where Biden still holds an edge, up just 2 points.

Biden flipped Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Michigan red in 2020 after Trump won them in 2016. Nevada and Wisconsin went blue in both elections.

Despite the challenging landscape, Rodriguez called the data “just a snapshot in time” and vowed “important work to do” before November 2024. With Trump poised to capture 5 of 6 battlegrounds, Biden faces a steep climb to replicate his 2020 victory.