Only 29 percent in new poll say US is headed in right direction

Fewer Americans say the country is headed in the right direction, according to a new Monmouth University poll.

The survey found that only 29 percent of adults said the U.S. is on the right track, down from 38 percent who said the same in a July poll.

The new survey also revealed that 65 percent of respondents said the country is going in the wrong direction, up from 56 percent two months ago.

Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, said the handling of the spike in COVID-19 cases and the deadly U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan likely contributed to the latest survey results.

“Most Americans approve of ending the war in Afghanistan, but the images of a disorderly withdrawal did not help Biden at a time when the rise in Covid cases is already unsettling the public,” Murray said in a statement.

Although two-thirds of Americans supported the withdrawal, 48 percent said President Biden seriously mishandled the mission. During that same time, COVID-19 cases continued to spike, due in large part to the highly contagious delta variant and its effect on unvaccinated Americans.

The poll also found that Biden’s approval rating dropped to 46 percent, with an equal amount disapproving of his job performance. The president’s numbers declined among Democrats, Republicans and independents. Biden’s approval rating was 54 percent in April.

The new poll was conducted Sept. 9-13 among 802 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.