Polls favour Biden as he completes 100 days in office

WASHINGTON: A majority of Americans approve of President Joe Biden’s performance during his first 100 days in office, three new polls found on Sunday.

Overall, the polls showed a range of 52-58 per cent of US adults who say they approve of the job Biden is doing, compared with 39-42 per cent who say they disapprove.

But the positive ratings are divided along party lines: about 90 per cent of Democrats say they approve of Biden’s performance, while only nine to 13 per cent of Republicans do.

Biden’s performance is far higher than predecessor Donald Trump achieved in his entire presidency.

Trump spent most of his presidency with ratings in the low 40s, and let office on Jan.20 with a Gallup poll approval of just 34 per cent, a record low. A poll by CBS gives Biden the highest ranking, with 58 per cent approval and 42 per cent disapproval.

NBC found that 53 per cent of adults approve, while 39 per cent disapprove.

And a poll by ABC and The Washington Post showed a 52 per cent overall approval rating and a 42 per cent disapproval rating.

Biden’s strongest performance across the board was for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with 64-69 per cent approval.

However, the polls found that vaccine hesitancy has increased, with CBS showing that 19 per cent of Republicans say they might get the vaccine, and 30 per cent saying they won’t get it at all.

Additionally, Biden received the weakest marks for how he has dealt with the migration situation at the Us-mexico border.

The ABC poll found that only 37 per cent of adults approved of his approach to the border, while NBC found that only 33 per cent of adults approved.

While Biden’s overall performance so far is generally higher than Trump’s, it is lower than that of Barack Obama, under whom Biden served as vice president.

Obama had an average of 60 per cent approval in his first half year and his predecessor George W. Bush had 53.9 per cent.