Poll: 61% Say Country ‘Off on the Wrong Track’ Ahead of Biden’s SOTU Address

Sixty-one percent of voters say the country is headed “off on the wrong track” ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, a Yahoo! News/YouGov survey released this week found.

Just a quarter of Americans say the U.S. is “generally headed in the right direction,” while 61 percent said it is “off on the wrong track.” Further, 50 percent of Democrats say the country is headed in the right direction under Biden, but nearly one-third, 32 percent, say it is on the wrong track. Another 18 percent remain unsure. 

A majority of Republicans and independents, 86 percent and 68 percent, respectively, say the country is off on the wrong track. What is more, the survey showed Biden’s approval underwater by double digits, as 53 percent disapprove, compared to 41 percent who approve. 

His approval on key issues, including the Chinese coronavirus — a major selling point of his presidential campaign — has cratered. A plurality, 47 percent, disapprove compared to 44 percent who approve. Conveniently, both the Democrat-led House of Representatives and White House opted to lift their mask requirements ahead of the SOTU address — a likely reaction to the souring polling numbers on that particular issue.

“I’m not going to be wearing a mask tonight,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said during a Tuesday appearance on MSNBC.

“If I had little children or if I were around little grandchildren, I would, because some of them would not be vaccinated,” she added. 

The survey was taken February 24-27, 2022, among 1,532 U.S. adults.