While President Joe Biden has been underwater in Gallup’s job approval polls for quite some time, he has now fallen to a new low of just 38%.
The July 5-26 survey of adults in the U.S. found that while just 38% approve of how the president is handling his role, a whopping 59% disapprove. While 13% strongly approve, 25%, moderately approve, 45% strongly disapprove, and 14% moderately disapprove.
Just 78% of Democrats and 31% of independents approve of Biden’s handling of his role. While 30% of Democrats strongly approve, 48% moderately approve, 13% moderately disapprove, and 6% strongly disapprove. And while 9% of independents strongly approve, 22% moderately approve, 20% moderately disapprove, and 43% strongly disapprove.
“Democrats were already facing a tough environment in this fall’s midterms as they seek to retain their narrow majorities in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. Biden’s now weaker approval makes their odds of doing so even steeper,” Gallup noted.
While Biden has said that he plans to run for re-election as long as he is healthy, he could face a difficult primary contest if public sentiment does not shift in his favor going forward.
A CNN poll found that 75% of “Democrats/Democratic-leaning independents who are registered to vote” believe that the Democratic Party should go with someone other than Biden as the 2024 presidential nominee, while only 25% felt that the party should nominate Biden.
Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota has said that he does not want Biden to run for re-election in 2024.
“Biden has been the principled, stabilizing bridge the country needed. I just believe it’s time for generational change in Congress and the White House,” Phillips said, according to CNN’s Manu Raju.
Biden is already the oldest president in U.S. history and would be 86 years old by the end of a second term in office.