Biden’s job approval 42 percent despite good marks on Ukraine response: poll

A majority of voters in a new survey disapprove of President Biden’s job performance, even as most give him positive marks for his handling of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A Wall Street Journal poll published Friday found 42 percent of respondents approved of Biden’s job performance, roughly the same percentage who approved in a mid-November survey from the same outlet. Fifty-seven percent in Friday’s poll said they disapproved of Biden’s performance.

Biden’s struggles are owed to frustration among voters with his handling of inflation in particular, which half of respondents said was their top issue for the federal government to address.

The poll found 63 percent of voters surveyed disapproved of how Biden has handled inflation, and 47 percent said they felt Republicans were better able to handle the issue, compared to 30 percent who said Democrats.

Rising costs have been a persistent issue for Biden, who has spoken about it frequently and tried to unclog supply chains and warn companies against price gouging. But there is little Biden can directly do to lower costs, and the conflict in Ukraine has only exacerbated the issue, particularly in the form of rising gas prices.

Still, Biden’s approach to the Ukraine conflict was a bright spot in the poll for him. Half of voters polled said they approved of how he has dealt with Russia, with 44 percent disapproving.

Asked separately how he has handled the crisis in Ukraine, 47 percent of respondents said they approved of Biden’s approach and 46 percent said they disapproved.

And banning imports of Russian oil — a move Biden took earlier this week after the poll had been conducted — had support from 79 percent of voters.

The Wall Street Journal poll surveyed 1,500 registered voters from March 2-7, and it has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.

The poll is in line with other recent surveys showing Biden’s approval hovering in the low- or mid-40 percent range, but it underscores how difficult it has been for Biden to get a bump from events like the State of the Union or his handling of the Russian invasion of Ukraine as issues like inflation remain top of mind for voters.