There’s a first for everything, yet this is one President Biden would not pride himself on. When it comes to approval ratings, Biden’s report card shows a discouraging 38.7 percent, as recorded by Gallup. This is a newfound low, marking a historic dip in approval in the preliminary term of a president since polling commenced.
Looking back through history, none of the first-term presidents post Dwight Eisenhower era managed to score lower than Biden on their 13th-quarter average. This data comes straight from Gallup, covering the time frame from January 20th to April 19th.
Comparatively analyzing the same period across presidencies, former President George H.W. Bush had the second most dismal record, standing at 41.8 percent. Following him come President Obama with 45.9 percent and President Trump with 46.8 percent. These figures were reported by none other than the Washington Times, who utilized Gallup’s rich data resources.
Biden has seen a consecutive decline in his approval ratings in recent months. Nevertheless, the shock emerged when this gradual descent took a steep drop among his own supporters—Democrats—due to a standpoint he chose regarding Israel during an assault on the country by the terrorist group Hamas.
In October, a sudden and destructive attack on Israel by Hamas, saw Biden extend his support towards the Jewish state. This decision, however, resulted in an alarming drop of 11 percentage points in a single month among Democrats, amounting to an unprecedented low of 75 percent.
Quoting a recent Gallup survey, Axios reported that Biden’s substantiated support for Israel during the crisis — a conflict that involved extensive attacks on Gaza — put him in jeopardy of estranging individuals within his own party.
Gallup’s findings back in February highlighted a shift in sympathy among Democrats towards Palestinians, rather than Israelis. This marked the first such transition since the conducting of this specific polling.
This divide seemed to be prominent across differing generations. For instance, less than half (48 percent) of the Gen Z and millennials believe the U.S. should publically advocate for Israel, as found in an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, reported by Axios.
Biden’s unfaltering support for Israel culminated in his visit to the country and a request to Congress for a considerable $14 billion aid package. While this action was applauded by those in Israel’s corner, national surveys revealed that this did nothing to strengthen his political word at home.
A survey by Gallup in October showed a four-point decline in approval for Biden, matching a record low of 37 percent. This downward trend was driven by his slipping Democratic support and a four-point fall from independents, holding at 35 percent. The approval among Republicans, however, stayed the course at a steady 5 percent.
Democrat state representative Alabas Farhat from Michigan did not mince his words when he expressed, ‘Joe Biden has painstakingly alienated almost every Arab American and Muslim American voter in Michigan.’ Indeed, Biden’s decisions seem to have disillusioned many within his original support base.
Farhat continued on to say, ‘The Biden administration and Democrats in general will need to do a considerable amount of groundwork to rebuild some degree of trust within my community. However, it’s never too late to do the right thing.’
Ahmad Ramadan, a veteran Biden adviser who now helms coalition efforts for the Michigan Democratic Party, stated, ‘President Biden won with historic numbers in 2020. I was proud to be a part of that, but the last two weeks have caused a significant shift.’
Ramadan also expressed the pressure and guilt arising from his role in Biden’s campaign. He revealed he’s been receiving calls from individuals expressing remorse, essentially saying, ‘I have blood on my hands because I encouraged people to back him during the campaign.’
Recently, the Council on American-Islamic Relations demanded an apology from Biden. This came after he voiced doubts over numbers quoted by the Ministry of Health of the Hamas-run government in Gaza, highlighting casualties and deaths exceeding 7,000.
