Poll: Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address Fails to Improve His Popularity on Key Issues

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President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address last week failed to improve his popularity on key issues among Americans, a new ABC News/Ipsos poll found Sunday; therefore, his campaign received no boost heading into the 2024 presidential election.

On key 2024 issues of Biden’s economy, crime, Hamas’s war, as well as the Ukraine war, Biden’s approval rating “remains unchanged,” the poll found:

  • Economy: 36 percent approval
  • Crime: 35 percent approval
  • Hamas: 30 percent approval
  • Ukraine: 41 percent approval

Biden’s speech, which many said was angry, partisan, and aggressive, was not well received among independents. Thirty-six percent of independents said he performed worse or as expected. Only 25 percent said he performed better than expected.

US President Joe Biden, during a State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Election-year politics will increase the focus on Biden's remarks and lawmakers' reactions, as he's stumping to the nation just months before voters will decide control of the House, Senate, and White House. Photographer: Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images

US President Joe Biden, during a State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, March 7, 2024 (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images). 

Some political pundits believe Biden’s speech should have contained an appeal to independents. However, he appears to have directed it toward the far left to secure the Democrat nomination. Previous polling shows the president is not highly favored among his party.

Former President Donald Trump performed better than Biden on many of the key issues, according to the poll: “Trump’s approval ratings for his time as president are higher than Biden on four of seven issues both men were rated on: the economy, inflation, immigration and the situation at the U.S. Mexico border, and crime.”

Trump also scored a better approval rating than Biden among their respective parties, the poll found:

The key difference between the two is how their respective base rates their job. Trump’s approval rating among Republicans is higher for many issues (ratings range by issue from the mid-70s to 90%) than Biden’s among Democrats on the same issues (from 59% to mid-70s).

A plurality (36 percent) of Americans said they trust Trump over Biden (33 percent) to lead the nation. Thirty percent were uncommitted.

US President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up during a Make America Great Again rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, April 27, 2019. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

US President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up during a Make America Great Again rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, April 27, 2019 (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images).

The poll sampled 536 Americans from March 8-9 after the State of the Union address. The poll’s margin of error was 4.5 points.

Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former GOP War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.

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