According to a new poll from the Harvard Institute of Politics, only 41 percent of young Americans approve of President Joe Biden’s job performance. The poll, released on Monday, surveyed adults ages 18-29. Biden’s approval is down from 46 percent in autumn of 2021 and a 59 percent majority in the spring of last year.
According to other Harvard IOP polling, during the 2018 midterm cycle, only 25% of young Americans approved of then-President Trump. Conversely, in 2010, 56 percent approved of then-President Obama’s job performance ahead in his first midterm cycle, when Democrats actually lost the House majority.
Young adults did rate President Biden higher, at 52 percent, for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and his handling of the Ukraine crisis, at 46 percent, compared to only 34 percent for his handling of the economy.
Almost 70 percent of young voters who backed Joe Biden in the 2020 election do still approve of the overall job performance.
The poll shows that those who approve of Biden overall differ in several ways from those young voters who have changed their minds. John Della Volpe, Harvard IOP’s director, explains:
“Overall, Biden voters who now disapprove of his performance rate him more harshly on the economy. (T)hey see the current political system as ineffectual; they view the President as putting the interests of the elite over their own; they consume less political information; are more likely to be on Twitter; have less hope about the future; are more liberal; and more passionate about (canceling) student debt for everyone.”
The declining approval rate also applies to congressional Democrats, as only 40 of those polled approve of their job performance. The most abysmal ratings in the poll, though, were reserved for congressional Republicans, who were hovering just over 30 percent.
