A new poll released by NBC on March 27 says that seven out of every ten people polled have low confidence in U.S. President Joe Biden’s ability to deal with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as Biden heads into his fifteenth month in office.
In the 2020 presidential election, Biden received a record-breaking number of votes. Just over a year later, his approval rating is at an all-time low. According to the NBC poll, only 40% of respondents approve of how Mr. Biden is handling his responsibilities. That is a 3% drop in the president’s approval rating since January. The poll shows that 55% of respondents disapprove of the job Biden is doing as president.
Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinions Strategy stated that these numbers mean that the next election will be disastrous for Biden and the democrats. The Republican pollster joined forces with democrat pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates to discover what the American people are thinking at this time, NBC reports.
In the study, Republicans also had a two-point advantage in deciding which party should govern Congress ahead of the November midterm elections, NBC reports.
More than half of Americans say President Biden’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was too mild. According to an Associated Press/NORC survey, only around a quarter of Americans trust him to handle a crisis.
The poll shows that 56% believe the president has not reacted aggressively enough to the Russian invasion that began on February 24, while 36% believe he has handled it “about right.” Only 6% think he has been “too tough.”
More than two-thirds of Republicans (68%) and about the same percentage of independents (64%) believe the president’s response has not been severe enough, while 43% of Democrats agree.
The numbers for Biden’s ability to lead the military are roughly the same, with 72% saying they have “just some” or “hardly any” confidence and 26% saying they have “a great deal” of confidence. Again, the responses are split down party lines, with 49% of Democrats expressing a “great deal” of confidence to effectively manage the military, compared to 4% of Republicans.
The poll shows solid support for steps adopted by the White House in reaction to the invasion, with 68% backing sanctions against Russia — including 64 percent of Republicans — and 70% favoring an embargo on Russian energy imports.