Biden approval rating slides on coronavirus surge, Afghanistan withdrawal: poll

President Biden’s job-approval rating has continued to slip amid a nationwide surge in coronavirus cases and the recent uproar following his administration’s handling of the U.S. military withdrawal in Afghanistan, a recent NBC News poll has shown.

The new poll, which was conducted between Aug. 14-17, showed 49 percent of Americans surveyed said they approved of Biden’s job performance as the president continues to field criticism from lawmakers over the pullout. Forty-nine percent said they disapproved.

{mosads}The results mark the first time Biden has received a job-approval rating of lower than 50 percent in the agency’s polls since becoming president. 

The rating is a slight dip from similar polling conducted by the news agency in April, when 53 percent said they approved of his job performance. In the past poll, Biden’s disapproval rating was much lower, with only 39 percent saying then that they disapproved of this job performance. 

Polling among a smaller group of registered voters showed Biden’s job-approval rating resting at 50 percent in the new poll, a 1-point decline from April. 

Forty-eight percent of registered voters in the recent poll also said they disapproved of his overall job performance, compared to 43 percent who said the same in April.

However, even with the declines in ratings, NBC News notes Biden rating remains higher than any of the ratings former President Donald Trump received in its past polling.

A closer breakdown of the recent poll showed Biden still enjoyed prominent support from Democratic-identifying respondents, as 88 percent of those surveyed in the group said as much. The figure is just two percentage points less than the rating the group gave Biden in April.

Biden saw a larger dent in his support among independents, white Americans and those from rural areas, the news agency noted.

On the Afghanistan withdrawal, a majority of respondents, or 60 percent, said they disapproved of Biden’s handling of the situation, compared to 25 percent who said they approved.

The recent polling also displayed drops since previous polling of his marks on the handling of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the country’s economic recovery.

In the new poll, 53 percent of respondents said they approved of Biden’s job performance when it comes to his administration’s pandemic response and 44 percent said they disapproved.

By contrast, in the news agency’s polling from April, Biden had a job-approval rating of 69 percent for his handling of the pandemic and a disapproval rating of 27 percent. 

The decline comes as parts of the nation have seen a surge in coronavirus cases in recent months fueled by the fast-spreading delta variant.

Forty-seven percent of respondents said they approved of Biden’s job on his administration’s handling of the nation’s economic recovery, compared to 49 percent who said they disapproved.

The outlet’s April polling showed 52 percent of respondent approved of the president’s job-approval rating on the economy, while 43 percent said they disapproved.

The new poll released by NBC News on Sunday was conducted among among 1,000 adults and has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.