Biden approval down to 42% overall, lower on Afghanistan withdrawal, latest poll finds

HAMDEN, Conn. (WWLP) – A poll from Quinnipiac University shows approval for President Joe Biden has dipped among surveyed Americans due to his handling of multiple important issues.

Overall job as president

According to a Quinnipiac statement, the poll numbers show that only 42% of those surveyed approve of how Biden is handling the job of the president overall, with 50% disapproving. Broken up into party affiliation, 91% of Republicans surveyed disapprove, while 88% of Democrats approve. Among independent voters, 52% disapprove of the president’s handling of major issues.

This is the first time since taking office in January that the president’s approval rating has dipped into negative territory. On topics of handling the economy and foreign policy, the president receives an overwhelmingly negative response. Comparatively, on matters of handling the pandemic and climate change, Biden scores close to net-zero with almost equal amounts of voters approving and disapproving of his actions so far.

“If there ever was a honeymoon for President Biden, it is clearly over. This is, with few exceptions, a poll full of troubling negatives… from overall job approval, to foreign policy, to the economy,” said Tim Malloy, Quinnipiac University polling analyst, in a press release.

Afghanistan

Quinnipiac University’s poll shows that more than half of Americans support the decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan. However, voters give the president a negative 31%–65% score for the way he withdrew troops. Additionally, a majority — roughly 60% — believe that American troops will be required to return to the country to fight terrorist threats.

Split up by political affiliation, the majority of both Republicans (83%-10%) and Independents (65%-25%) believe that troops will need to go back to Afghanistan. Among Democrats, 52% believe troops will not need to return to the now-struggling country.

“‘The pullout is over, but boots will be back on the ground eventually,’ predict voters, who clearly see a looming terrorist threat churning in the cauldron that is Afghanistan,” Malloy concluded of the results.

Further findings from Quinnipiac’s poll can be found at the university’s website.