Biden approval at 50 percent in CNN poll

Half of Americans approve of President Biden’s performance as president, according to a new CNN poll that was quickly shared by White House staff after a string of tough polling numbers.

The CNN survey released Wednesday found the country is sharply divided over Biden’s work thus far. Fifty percent of adults gave Biden positive marks, while 49 percent said they disapprove of his job performance.

The president’s approval is down slightly from 52 percent in a September CNN poll.

The survey found Americans similarly divided on Biden’s work to unify the country and on how to proceed with his economic agenda.

The poll showed 51 percent of those surveyed felt Biden has done more to unite the country during his nine months in office, while 49 percent said he’s done more to divide the nation.

Biden is also facing a divided Democratic electorate, according to the poll, as he seeks to push both a bipartisan infrastructure bill through the House and a larger package containing spending on child care, education and climate initiatives through both chambers of Congress.

The poll found 49 percent of Democrats surveyed believe progressives are doing more for the party by trying to secure a larger package with more spending on those programs, while 51 percent of Democrats said moderates in the party are helping more by trying to cut down the size of the reconciliation bill to contain spending.

Eighty-two percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents surveyed approved of the way he is handling negotiations.

Wednesday’s poll, which surveyed 1,000 adults from Oct. 7-11 and has a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points, was welcome news for a White House that has been battered by falling approval ratings and tough polls in recent weeks. White House chief of staff Ron Klain shared the results of the poll on his Twitter feed shortly after they were released.

Biden has been struggling in the polls of late, especially with independents.

A Quinnipiac University poll released last week found 38 percent of those surveyed approve of Biden’s job performance, while 53 percent disapprove. The poll found 60 percent of independents disapproved of Biden’s performance. 

That poll followed an Associated Press survey last week that put Biden’s overall approval rating at 50 percent, down from 54 percent in August.

Press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters last week the White House was not overly concerned with the polling trends, and she attributed the numbers largely to the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic.