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August 23, 2021
Biden Overall Job Approval Below 50%
A total of 49% of Americans say they approve of
the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president and 46% say they
disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job according to the latest
survey from the American Research Group. In July, 53% approved of
the way Biden was handling his job as president and 43%
disapproved.
When
it comes to Biden's handling of the economy, 51% of Americans approve
and 45% disapprove. In July, 54% approved of the way Biden was
handling the economy and 42% disapproved.
When
it comes to Biden's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, 57%
of Americans approve
and 38% disapprove. In July, 60% approved of the way Biden was
handling the coronavirus outbreak and 35% disapproved.
Among Americans registered to vote, 50% approve
of the way Biden is handling his job as president and 46% disapprove.
On Biden's handling of the economy, 52% of registered voters approve
and 45% disapprove. And on Biden's handling of the coronavirus
outbreak, 58% of registered voters approve and 38% disapprove.
Of the 49% of Americans saying they approve of the way Biden is handling
his job as president, 85% say they expect the national economy to be
better a year from now. Of the 46% saying they disapprove of the way
Biden his handling his job as president, 96% say they expect the
national economy to be worse a year from now. Also,
of the 49% of Americans saying they approve of the way Biden is
handling his job as president, 56% say they expect the financial
situations in their households will be better a year from now. Of the
46% saying they disapprove of the way Biden his handling his job as
president, 63% say they expect the financial situations in their
households will be worse a year from now.
The results presented here are based on 1,100
completed interviews conducted among a nationwide random sample of
adults August 17 through 20,
2021.
The theoretical margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus
3 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is
evenly split.
Overall, 49% of Americans say that they approve of
the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president, 46% disapprove,
and 5% are undecided.
| Biden job
approval |
Approve |
Disapprove |
Undecided |
|
| Aug 2021 |
49% |
46% |
5% |
| Jul 2021 |
53% |
43% |
4% |
| Jun 2021 |
52% |
43% |
5% |
| May 2021 |
57% |
37% |
6% |
| Apr 2021 |
59% |
35% |
6% |
| Mar 2021 |
60% |
34% |
6% |
| Feb 2021 |
58% |
34% |
8% |
| Donald Trump: |
| Jan 2021 |
30% |
66% |
4% |
| Dec 2020 |
41% |
56% |
3% |
| Nov 2020 |
41% |
55% |
4% |
| Oct 2020 |
35% |
60% |
5% |
| Sep 2020 |
35% |
59% |
6% |
| Aug 2020 |
38% |
59% |
3% |
Among Republicans (29% of adults registered to
vote in the survey and 26% of all adults in the survey), 2% approve of
the way Biden is handling his job and 94% disapprove. Among Democrats
(36% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 32% of all adults
in the survey), 93% approve and 5% disapprove of the way Biden is
handling his job. Among independents (35% of adults registered to vote
in the survey and 32% of all adults in the survey), 45% approve and 48%
disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job as president.
Overall, 51% of Americans say that they approve of
the way Joe Biden is handling the economy, 45% disapprove, and 4%
are undecided. Among registered voters, 52% approve and 45% disapprove
of the way Biden is handling the economy.
| Biden handling
the economy |
Approve |
Disapprove |
Undecided |
|
| Aug 2021 |
51% |
45% |
4% |
| Jul 2021 |
54% |
42% |
4% |
| Jun 2021 |
55% |
41% |
4% |
| May 2021 |
59% |
35% |
6% |
| Apr 2021 |
61% |
34% |
5% |
| Mar 2021 |
62% |
34% |
4% |
| Feb 2021 |
60% |
33% |
7% |
| Donald Trump: |
| Jan 2021 |
38% |
59% |
3% |
| Dec 2020 |
39% |
57% |
4% |
| Nov 2020 |
40% |
55% |
5% |
| Oct 2020 |
38% |
57% |
5% |
| Sep 2020 |
39% |
56% |
5% |
| Aug 2020 |
40% |
55% |
5% |
Among Republicans, 3% approve of the way Biden is
handling the economy and 95% disapprove. Among Democrats, 95% approve
of the way Biden is handling the economy and 3% disapprove. Among
independents, 47% approve and 46% disapprove of the way Biden is
handling the economy.
Overall, 57% of Americans say they approve of the
way Joe Biden is
handling the coronavirus outbreak, 38% say they disapprove, and 5% are
undecided. Among registered voters, 58% approve and 38% disapprove
of the way Biden is handling the coronavirus.
| Biden
handling coronavirus outbreak |
Approve |
Disapprove |
Undecided |
|
| Aug 2021 |
57% |
38% |
5% |
| Jul 2021 |
60% |
35% |
5% |
| Jun 2021 |
61% |
33% |
6% |
| May 2021 |
64% |
32% |
4% |
| Apr 2021 |
64% |
31% |
5% |
| Mar 2021 |
64% |
31% |
5% |
| Feb 2021 |
62% |
29% |
9% |
| Donald Trump: |
| Jan 2021 |
29% |
68% |
3% |
| Dec 2020 |
37% |
57% |
6% |
| Nov 2020 |
37% |
57% |
6% |
| Oct 2020 |
31% |
61% |
8% |
| Sep 2020 |
33% |
60% |
7% |
| Aug 2020 |
35% |
60% |
5% |
Among Republicans, 16% approve of the way Biden
is
handling the coronavirus outbreak and 79% disapprove. Among Democrats,
94%
approve
of the way Biden is handling the coronavirus outbreak and 4%
disapprove. Among
independents, 55% approve and 38% disapprove of the way Biden is
handling the coronavirus outbreak.
A total of 35% of Americans say that the national
economy is getting
better, 14% say it is staying the same, and 41% say the national
economy is getting worse.
|
National economy
|
Getting better
|
Staying the
same
|
Getting worse
|
Undecided
|
|
| Aug 2021 |
35% |
14% |
41% |
10% |
| Jul 2021 |
39% |
16% |
35% |
10% |
| Jun 2021 |
37% |
18% |
33% |
12% |
| May 2021 |
36% |
22% |
28% |
14% |
| Apr 2021 |
30% |
27% |
29% |
14% |
| Mar 2021 |
27% |
30% |
30% |
13% |
| Feb 2021 |
22% |
31% |
34% |
13% |
| Jan 2021 |
21% |
19% |
57% |
3% |
| Dec 2020 |
33% |
15% |
50% |
2% |
| Nov 2020 |
35% |
17% |
46% |
2% |
| Oct 2020 |
30% |
16% |
52% |
2% |
| Sep 2020 |
29% |
19% |
49% |
3% |
| Aug 2020 |
22% |
21% |
56% |
1% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Biden
is handling his job, 69% say getting better, 20% say staying the same,
and 7% say getting worse. Of those saying they disapprove of
the way Biden is handling his job, 3% say getting
better, 6%
say staying the same, and 83% say getting worse.
A total of 48% of Americans say they believe the
national economy will be better a year from now, 6% say it will be the
same, and 45% say it will be worse.
|
National economy a year from now
|
Better than
today
|
The same as
today
|
Worse than
today
|
Undecided
|
|
| Aug 2021 |
48% |
6% |
45% |
1% |
| Jul 2021 |
52% |
5% |
42% |
1% |
| Jun 2021 |
52% |
5% |
42% |
1% |
| May 2021 |
57% |
5% |
36% |
2% |
| Apr 2021 |
57% |
7% |
35% |
1% |
| Mar 2021 |
59% |
7% |
33% |
1% |
| Feb 2021 |
57% |
9% |
33% |
1% |
| Jan 2021 |
42% |
20% |
27% |
11% |
| Dec 2020 |
50% |
19% |
20% |
11% |
| Nov 2020 |
48% |
21% |
19% |
12% |
| Oct 2020 |
47% |
25% |
17% |
11% |
| Sep 2020 |
49% |
20% |
18% |
13% |
| Aug 2020 |
54% |
18% |
18% |
10% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Biden
is handling
his job, 85% say better, 12% say the same as today, and less than 1%
say
worse
than today. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is
handling his job as president, 3% say better, 1%
say the
same, and 96%
say worse.
Overall, 29% of Americans say they believe that
the national economy is in a recession, 49% say they do not believe the
economy is in a recession, and 22% are undecided.
| National
economy in a recession |
Yes
|
No
|
Undecided
|
|
| Aug 2021 |
29% |
49% |
22% |
| Jul 2021 |
25% |
52% |
23% |
| Jun 2021 |
23% |
51% |
26% |
| May 2021 |
25% |
49% |
26% |
| Apr 2021 |
30% |
41% |
29% |
| Mar 2021 |
35% |
34% |
31% |
| Feb 2021 |
39% |
26% |
35% |
| Jan 2021 |
46% |
38% |
16% |
| Dec 2020 |
41% |
43% |
16% |
| Nov 2020 |
37% |
46% |
17% |
| Oct 2020 |
43% |
41% |
16% |
| Sep 2020 |
50% |
36% |
14% |
| Aug 2020 |
51% |
33% |
16% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Biden
is handling his job, 22% say the national economy is in a
recession, 59%
say the national economy is not in a recession, and 19% are undecided.
Of those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job,
37% say the national economy is in a recession, 43% say the national
economy is not in a recession, and 20% are undecided.
A total of 52% of Americans rate the national
economy as excellent, very good, or good and 43% rate it as bad, very
bad, or terrible.
|
National economy
|
Excellent
|
Very good
|
Good
|
Bad
|
Very bad
|
Terrible
|
Undecided
|
|
| Aug 2021 |
6% |
22% |
24% |
23% |
13% |
7% |
5% |
| Jul 2021 |
7% |
24% |
24% |
25% |
10% |
5% |
5% |
| Jun 2021 |
6% |
25% |
20% |
29% |
10% |
5% |
5% |
| May 2021 |
6% |
26% |
23% |
28% |
7% |
4% |
6% |
| Apr 2021 |
6% |
22% |
21% |
32% |
7% |
4% |
8% |
| Mar 2021 |
7% |
18% |
19% |
36% |
6% |
4% |
10% |
| Feb 2021 |
3% |
10% |
13% |
38% |
14% |
9% |
13% |
| Jan 2021 |
13% |
14% |
18% |
31% |
9% |
14% |
1% |
| Dec 2020 |
16% |
18% |
18% |
26% |
9% |
12% |
1% |
| Nov 2020 |
16% |
16% |
19% |
25% |
9% |
14% |
1% |
| Oct 2020 |
15% |
13% |
20% |
28% |
8% |
14% |
2% |
| Sep 2020 |
12% |
15% |
17% |
30% |
10% |
13% |
3% |
| Aug 2020 |
10% |
8% |
22% |
32% |
7% |
11% |
5% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Biden
is handling his job, 80% say very good, or good and 15% say
bad, very
bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden
is handling his job, less than 25% say very good, or good and 69% say
bad, very
bad, or terrible.
When it comes to rating their household financial
situations, 81% of Americans give an excellent, very good, or good
rating and 14% give a bad, very bad, or terrible rating.
|
Household financial situation
|
Excellent
|
Very good
|
Good
|
Bad
|
Very bad
|
Terrible
|
Undecided
|
|
| Aug 2021 |
15% |
24% |
42% |
10% |
3% |
1% |
5% |
| Jul 2021 |
17% |
26% |
41% |
10% |
3% |
1% |
2% |
| Jun 2021 |
16% |
27% |
42% |
8% |
3% |
1% |
3% |
| May 2021 |
18% |
26% |
44% |
9% |
1% |
1% |
1% |
| Apr 2021 |
16% |
20% |
48% |
11% |
1% |
1% |
3% |
| Mar 2021 |
17% |
15% |
49% |
14% |
1% |
2% |
2% |
| Feb 2021 |
12% |
13% |
57% |
13% |
3% |
1% |
1% |
| Jan 2021 |
14% |
15% |
46% |
13% |
5% |
2% |
5% |
| Dec 2020 |
16% |
19% |
42% |
13% |
4% |
3% |
3% |
| Nov 2020 |
18% |
18% |
41% |
13% |
3% |
3% |
4% |
| Oct 2020 |
18% |
19% |
40% |
13% |
2% |
3% |
5% |
| Sep 2020 |
18% |
19% |
45% |
12% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
| Aug 2020 |
17% |
19% |
44% |
15% |
1% |
2% |
2% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Biden
is handling his job, 92% say excellent, very good, or good and 7% say
bad, very bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of the
way Biden is handling his job, 68% say very good, or good and 23% say
bad, very bad, or terrible.
A total of 18% of Americans say
they
think the financial situations in their households are getting better,
53% say staying the same, and 27% say getting worse.
|
Household financial situation
|
Getting better
|
Staying the
same
|
Getting worse
|
Undecided
|
|
| Aug 2021 |
18% |
53% |
27% |
2% |
| Jul 2021 |
21% |
52% |
26% |
1% |
| Jun 2021 |
21% |
54% |
24% |
1% |
| May 2021 |
20% |
54% |
25% |
1% |
| Apr 2021 |
21% |
57% |
21% |
1% |
| Mar 2021 |
22% |
59% |
18% |
1% |
| Feb 2021 |
17% |
70% |
9% |
4% |
| Jan 2021 |
7% |
56% |
30% |
7% |
| Dec 2020 |
11% |
57% |
25% |
7% |
| Nov 2020 |
13% |
55% |
25% |
7% |
| Oct 2020 |
14% |
54% |
24% |
8% |
| Sep 2020 |
17% |
53% |
25% |
5% |
| Aug 2020 |
14% |
53% |
28% |
5% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Biden
is handling his job, 34% say getting better, 53% say staying the same,
and 12% say getting worse. Among those saying they disapprove
of the way Biden is handling his job, 3% say getting
better, 49% say staying the same, and 46% say getting worse.
Looking to a year from now, 31% of Americans say
that they think their household financial situations will be better
than today, 34% say the same as today, and 3% say worse than today.
|
Household financial situation a
year from now
|
Better than
today
|
The same as
today
|
Worse than
today
|
Undecided
|
|
| Aug 2021 |
31% |
34% |
33% |
2% |
| Jul 2021 |
35% |
36% |
28% |
1% |
| Jun 2021 |
35% |
38% |
26% |
1% |
| May 2021 |
32% |
39% |
28% |
1% |
| Apr 2021 |
29% |
42% |
28% |
1% |
| Mar 2021 |
26% |
44% |
27% |
3% |
| Feb 2021 |
35% |
39% |
21% |
5% |
| Jan 2021 |
28% |
42% |
22% |
8% |
| Dec 2020 |
35% |
39% |
17% |
9% |
| Nov 2020 |
36% |
37% |
19% |
8% |
| Oct 2020 |
30% |
42% |
19% |
9% |
| Sep 2020 |
30% |
45% |
16% |
9% |
| Aug 2020 |
37% |
39% |
15% |
9% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Biden
is handling his job, 56% say better than today, 37% say the same as
today, and 5% say worse than today. Among those saying they
disapprove
of the way Biden is handling his job, 9% say better than today, 26%
say the same as today, and 63% say worse than today.
About this Survey -
Survey Sponsor: American Research Group, Inc.
The American Research Group has been conducting
national surveys of consumers since 1985.
Sample Size: 1,100 completed interviews among a
random sample of all adults age 18 and older living in households in
the continental United States (see methodology
for details). There were 287 Republicans, 356 Democrats, 349
independents, and 108 non-voters in the sample.
Sample Dates: August 17-20, 2021
Margin of Error: ± 3 percentage points, 95% of the
time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.
Question Wording and Order:
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden
is handling his job as president?
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden
is handling the economy?
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden
is handling the coronavirus outbreak?
How do you rate the condition of the national
economy these days - would you say it is excellent, very good, good,
bad, very bad, or terrible?
Do you think the national economy is getting
better, staying the same, or getting worse?
Would you say that the national economy is in a
recession, or not?
A year from now, do you expect the national
economy to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or
worse than it is today?
How do you rate the condition of the financial
situation in your household - would you say it is excellent, very good,
good, bad, very bad, or terrible?
Do you think the financial situation in your
household is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?
A year from now, do you expect the financial
situation in your household to be better than it is today, the same as
it is today, or worse than it is today?
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