On Sunday, The New Yorker released an interview with President Barack Obama in which the president stated that his approval ratings had been suppressed due to racism. “There’s no doubt that there’s some folks who just really dislike me because they don’t like the idea of a black president,” Obama stated. “Now, the flip side of it is there are some black folks and maybe some white folks who really like me and give me the benefit of the doubt precisely because I’m a black president.”
Obama’s current approval rating is down to 39 percent according to Gallup; his approval rating in the black community remains extraordinarily high, although it is significantly lower now than it was when he was re-elected.
Obama’s overall approval ratings have tumbled coincident with the failed rollout of Obamacare, as well as his mishandling of the Syria and Iran crises. Obama’s supporters have often suggested that political difficulties he experiences are attributable to generalized racial anxiety.