Ahead of his first State of the Union address, polls suggest a majority of Americans are still unhappy with Joe Biden's presidency.
Biden, who is set to address domestic issues such as inflation as well as the Russian invasion of Ukraine during his speech in the House chamber at 9 p.m. EST on Tuesday, will speak as his poll numbers continue to plummet from the highs of his first few months in the White House.
According to a number of surveys conducted prior to the State of the Union address, a majority of voters disapprove of Biden's job as president following a turbulent year.
The biggest concern for the president will be the results of a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National poll, which revealed that Biden's job approval rating is currently at just 39 percent, with more than half (56 percent) stating that Biden's first year in office has been a failure.
A separate poll from The Washington Post and ABC News found just 37 percent of Americans approve of the job Biden is doing, the lowest of his entire presidency.
A poll of 1,247 adults, conducted by The Bullfinch Group between February 19 and 23, found that 51 percent disapprove of Biden's job as president, compared to 44 percent who approve.
When broken down further, the poll found that only 17 percent of respondents strongly approve of Biden, while 37 percent strongly disapprove.
Similar results were given by an Ipsos poll carried out between February 22 and 23. The results found that more than half (53 percent) of 1,004 adults said they disapproved of Biden as president, compared to just 43 percent who approved.
A Morning Consult poll conducted between February 17 and 23 also found that 42 percent of people approve of Biden's job as president, whereas half (50 percent) disapprove.
According to FiveThirtyEight, Biden's average national polling currently stands at a near historic low for Biden of 40.7 percent, down from a high of 55.1 percent in March 2021.
"The stakes couldn't be higher for President Biden's State of the Union address. Biden needs to revise the narrative about his job performance, especially on the economy, and the direction of the nation," Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, said in a statement. "That's a tall task while Ukraine looms large in the background."
Real Clear Politics put Biden's average approval rating on the eve of his State of the Union address at 40.7 percent—about the same as where former President Donald Trump's was when he gave his first State of the Union address.
The latest polls reveal that Americans no longer consider COVID-19 the most pressing issue, with the economy, inflation and jobs considered the biggest priorities facing the nation.
According to the Ipsos poll, 23 percent of respondents listed the economy, unemployment and jobs as the most important issue. The Marist National poll revealed that 38 percent of Americans think Biden's top priority should be inflation, compared to just 11 percent who believe it should still be handling the coronavirus.
On Sunday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki addressed the president's low approval rating during an appearance on ABC's This Week.
"Leaders lead during crises," Psaki said. "That's exactly what President Biden is doing. He'll speak to that, but he's also going to speak about his optimism about what's ahead and what we all have to look forward to."
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About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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