President Joe Biden's third-year job approval rating of 39.8% comes in second worst in nearly 70 years behind only Jimmy Carter's 37.4% in 1979-80, according to the latest Gallup poll released Thursday.
Further, Biden's third year was worse than Year 1 (48.9%) and Year 2 (41%), according to the survey. In Year 3, 83% of Democrats approved versus 5% of Republicans, a 78-point gap that is second only to Donald Trump, who sported an 82-point gap in his third year as president. That year, 89% of Republicans approved of Trump versus 7% of Democrats.
Biden hit lows of 37% three times during his third year, in April, October, and November, according to Gallup.
By comparison, Trump had a third-year approval rating of 42% from 2019-20.
Dwight Eisenhower's 72.1% from 1955-56 is the highest for a third-year president in his first term in post-World War II, according to Gallup.
Biden currently sits at 41% early in his fourth year.
"Biden begins his reelection campaign with a job approval rating significantly below the 50% mark that has been associated with winning a second term," Gallup said in its analysis. "And while some presidents have seen sharp improvements in their fourth year and won a second term, Biden's third-year rating was worse than any of theirs, suggesting he has a bigger hill to climb.
"The key to Biden's winning reelection may lie more in convincing a larger share of independents that he is doing a good job and is deserving of a second term. His approval rating among independents has mostly been below 40% since the fall of 2021 but was above 50% during the honeymoon phase of his presidency," Gallup added.
Gallup conducted interviews from Jan. 2-22, 2024, with a random sample of 1,011 adults. The margin of error is +/- 4 points at a 95% confidence level.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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