Poll: Joe Biden Least Popular President in Modern History

Former Presidents George Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama (JIM CHAPIN/AFP via Getty Im
JIM CHAPIN/AFP, Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Wendell Husebo

President Joe Biden is the least popular president in modern U.S. history, FiveThirtyEight polling shows.

The poll found Biden’s approval rating is -18 percentage points:

  • 37.7 percent approve of Biden
  • 55.6 percent disapprove of Biden

Biden’s -18 percentage points is the lowest in modern history, previous FiveThirtyEight polling found:

  1. Donald Trump: 41.7 percent approval (-11.9 percentage points)
  2. Barack Obama: 44.8 percent approval (-3.4 percentage points)
  3. George W. Bush: 51.5 percent approval (+9.8 percentage points)
  4. Bill Clinton: 52.0 percent approval (+12.3 percentage points)
  5. H.W. Bush: 52.8 percent approval (+13.8 percentage points)
  6. Ronald Reagan: 51.8 percent approval (+13.7 percentage points)
  7. Jimmy Carter: 44.9 percent approval (+2 percentage points)
  8. Richard Nixon: 50.7 percent approval (+14.2 percentage points)
  9. Lyndon Johnson: 44.9 percent approval (+3.9 percentage points)
  10. Dwight Eisenhower: 77.6 percent approval (+64.5 percentage points)
  11. Harry Truman: 50.6 percent approval (+16.7 percentage points)

Despite the negative poll, Biden told donors this week he is running for president to defeat former President Donald Trump. “If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running,” Biden said, adding that Democrats “cannot let [Trump] win.”

Former US President and 2024 Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, on October 9, 2023 (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images).

After the event, a reporter asked Biden, “Would you be running if Trump wasn’t running?”

“I expect so,” Biden replied. “But he is running, and — I just — I have to run.”

Polling shows a downward trend for the president:

  • CNN Poll: Joe Biden’s approval rating sinks to lowest of his presidency
  • NBC News: Biden’s approval rating tanked to the lowest level of his presidency.
  • Morning Consult: Trump leads Biden in six of seven crucial swing states.
  • Gallup Poll: Joe Biden’s support among independents drops eight points to a record low 27 percent.

Follow Wendell Husebø on “X” @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.

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