American Research Group, Inc.


 

November 21, 2024

Biden Job Approvals Drop

A total of 41% of Americans say they approve of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president and 53% say they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. In October, 44% approved of the way Biden was handling his job as president and 50% disapproved.

When it comes to Biden's handling of the economy, 40% of Americans approve and 55% disapprove. In October, 45% approved of the way Biden was handling the economy and 50% disapproved.

Among Americans registered to vote, 41% approve of the way Biden is handling his job as president and 53% disapprove. On Biden's handling of the economy, 40% of registered voters approve and 54% disapprove.

Of the 41% of Americans saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job as president, 28% say they expect the national economy will be better a year from now, down from 55% in October. Of the 53% saying they disapprove of the way Biden his handling his job as president, 20% say they expect the national economy will be worse a year from now, down from 39% in October.

Of the 41% of Americans saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job as president, 30% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be better a year from now, down from 53% in October. Of the 53% saying they disapprove of the way Biden his handling his job as president, 17% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be worse a year from now, down from 35% in October.

In comparison to this point in Donald Trump's term in office (November 2020), 41% of Americans approved of the way Trump was handling his job as president, 55% disapproved, and 4% were undecided. As for Trump's handling of the economy in November 2020, 40% approved, 55% disapproved, and 5% were undecided.

The results presented here are based on 1,100 completed interviews conducted among a nationwide random sample of adults November 17 through 20, 2024. 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, 42% of Americans say that they approve of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president, 53% disapprove, and 6% are undecided.

Biden job approval Approve Disapprove Undecided
Nov 2024 41% 53% 6%
Oct 2024 44% 50% 6%
Sep 2024 44% 49% 7%
Aug 2024 45% 49% 6%
Jul 2024 41% 53% 6%
Jun 2024 44% 51% 5%
May 2024 39% 56% 5%
Apr 2024 42% 53% 5%
Mar 2024 46% 50% 4%
Feb 2024 43% 51% 6%
Jan 2024 40% 54% 6%
Dec 2023 37% 57% 6%
Nov 2023 37% 57% 6%

Among Republicans (32% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 29% of all adults in the survey), 6% approve of the way Biden is handling his job and 88% disapprove. Among Democrats (31% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 28% of all adults in the survey), 83% approve and 12% disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job. Among independents (37% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 34% of all adults in the survey), 37% approve and 57% disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job as president.

Overall, 40% of Americans say that they approve of the way Joe Biden is handling the economy, 55% disapprove, and 5% are undecided. Among registered voters, 40% approve and 54% disapprove of the way Biden is handling the economy.

Biden handling the economy Approve Disapprove Undecided
Nov 2024 40% 55% 5%
Oct 2024 45% 50% 5%
Sep 2024 44% 51% 5%
Aug 2024 43% 51% 5%
Jul 2024 39% 55% 6%
Jun 2024 41% 54% 5%
May 2024 36% 59% 5%
Apr 2024 39% 56% 5%
Mar 2024 43% 52% 5%
Feb 2024 41% 53% 6%
Jan 2024 38% 57% 5%
Dec 2023 38% 56% 6%
Nov 2023 35% 60% 5%

Among Republicans, 4% approve of the way Biden is handling the economy and 91% disapprove. Among Democrats, 81% approve of the way Biden is handling the economy and 15% disapprove. Among independents, 38% approve and 55% disapprove of the way Biden is handling the economy.

A total of 33% of Americans say that the national economy is getting better, 14% say it is staying the same, and 49% say the national economy is getting worse.

National economy

Getting better

Staying the same

Getting worse

Undecided

Nov 2024 33% 14% 49% 4%
Oct 2024 36% 13% 47% 4%
Sep 2024 35% 17% 44% 4%
Aug 2024 36% 17% 44% 3%
Jul 2024 32% 16% 48% 4%
Jun 2024 33% 18% 45% 4%
May 2024 29% 19% 48% 4%
Apr 2024 33% 20% 45% 2%
Mar 2024 34% 23% 40% 3%
Feb 2024 32% 20% 44% 4%
Jan 2024 29% 15% 52% 4%
Dec 2023 24% 16% 56% 4%
Nov 2023 22% 17% 55% 6%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 76% say getting better, 18% say staying the same, and 5% say getting worse. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, less than 1% say getting better, 10% say staying the same, and 85% say getting worse.

A total of 36% of Americans say they believe the national economy will be better a year from now, 25% say it will be the same, and 26% say it will be worse.

National economy a year from now

Better than today

The same as today

Worse than today

Undecided

Nov 2024 36% 25% 26% 13%
Oct 2024 40% 23% 25% 12%
Sep 2024 39% 23% 25% 13%
Aug 2024 39% 25% 24% 12%
Jul 2024 40% 24% 26% 10%
Jun 2024 41% 22% 28% 9%
May 2024 41% 18% 31% 10%
Apr 2024 43% 18% 28% 11%
Mar 2024 41% 24% 29% 6%
Feb 2024 37% 25% 31% 7%
Jan 2024 35% 26% 38% 1%
Dec 2023 30% 29% 40% 1%
Nov 2023 29% 28% 42% 1%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 28% say better, 28% say the same as today, 37% say worse than today, and 7% are undecided. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job as president, 40% say better, 25% say the same, 20% say worse, and 15% are undecided.

Overall, 38% 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 13% are undecided.

National economy in a recession Yes No Undecided
Nov 2024 38% 49% 13%
Oct 2024 38% 51% 11%
Sep 2024 37% 53% 10%
Aug 2024 37% 54% 9%
Jul 2024 42% 47% 11%
Jun 2024 39% 48% 13%
May 2024 45% 45% 10%
Apr 2024 41% 50% 9%
Mar 2024 40% 50% 10%
Feb 2024 42% 47% 11%
Jan 2024 46% 41% 13%
Dec 2023 47% 39% 14%
Nov 2023 47% 38% 15%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 6% say the national economy is in a recession, 91% say the national economy is not in a recession, and 3% are undecided. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, 65% say the national economy is in a recession, 20% say the national economy is not in a recession, and 15% are undecided.

A total of 50% of Americans rate the national economy as excellent, very good, or good and 49% rate it as bad, very bad, or terrible.

National economy

Excellent

Very good

Good

Bad

Very bad

Terrible

Undecided

Nov 2024 14% 17% 19% 7% 15% 27% 1%
Oct 2024 15% 17% 22% 6% 12% 27% 1%
Sep 2024 15% 17% 21% 11% 11% 24% 1%
Aug 2024 16% 17% 21% 10% 9% 26% 1%
Jul 2024 14% 13% 21% 13% 10% 28% 1%
Jun 2024 14% 12% 23% 17% 11% 22% 1%
May 2024 12% 10% 21% 19% 11% 26% 1%
Apr 2024 13% 13% 21% 20% 8% 23% 2%
Mar 2024 13% 13% 27% 22% 9% 15% 1%
Feb 2024 13% 11% 25% 25% 9% 16% 1%
Jan 2024 10% 10% 26% 35% 8% 10% 1%
Dec 2023 8% 12% 27% 36% 6% 10% 1%
Nov 2023 9% 11% 28% 37% 6% 8% 1%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 96% say very good, or good and 3% say bad, very bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, 10% say very good, or good and 89% say bad, very bad, or terrible.

When it comes to rating their household financial situations, 67% of Americans give an excellent, very good, or good rating and 29% give a bad, very bad, or terrible rating.

Household financial situation

Excellent

Very good

Good

Bad

Very bad

Terrible

Undecided

Nov 2024 13% 20% 34% 19% 7% 3% 4%
Oct 2024 16% 20% 30% 15% 5% 7% 7%
Sep 2024 20% 20% 29% 14% 4% 7% 6%
Aug 2024 19% 20% 30% 19% 1% 7% 4%
Jul 2024 17% 19% 31% 19% 1% 9% 4%
Jun 2024 18% 18% 33% 20% 1% 9% 1%
May 2024 16% 19% 33% 21% 1% 8% 2%
Apr 2024 18% 22% 32% 17% 1% 8% 2%
Mar 2024 19% 25% 33% 18% 2% 2% 1%
Feb 2024 18% 22% 34% 20% 2% 3% 1%
Jan 2024 18% 20% 32% 23% 5% 1% 1%
Dec 2023 15% 21% 34% 22% 6% 1% 1%
Nov 2023 15% 21% 36% 19% 7% 1% 1%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 97% say excellent, very good, or good and 3% say bad, very bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, 39% say very good, or good and 56% say bad, very bad, or terrible.

A total of 15% of Americans say they think the financial situations in their households are getting better, 47% say staying the same, and 37% say getting worse.

Household financial situation

Getting better

Staying the same

Getting worse

Undecided

Nov 2024 15% 47% 37% 1%
Oct 2024 18% 44% 36% 2%
Sep 2024 18% 45% 35% 2%
Aug 2024 19% 44% 35% 2%
Jul 2024 15% 44% 39% 2%
Jun 2024 16% 40% 41% 3%
May 2024 14% 40% 44% 2%
Apr 2024 16% 43% 39% 2%
Mar 2024 16% 50% 33% 1%
Feb 2024 15% 48% 36% 1%
Jan 2024 15% 43% 41% 1%
Dec 2023 12% 43% 44% 1%
Nov 2023 11% 46% 42% 1%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 36% say getting better, 58% say staying the same, and 5% say getting worse. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, less than 1% say getting better, 36% say staying the same, and 63% say getting worse.

Looking to a year from now, 36% of Americans say that they think their household financial situations will be better than today, 44% say the same as today, and 15% say worse than today.

Household financial situation a year from now

Better than today

The same as today

Worse than
today

Undecided

Nov 2024 36% 44% 15% 5%
Oct 2024 32% 41% 23% 4%
Sep 2024 32% 39% 26% 3%
Aug 2024 33% 38% 26% 3%
Jul 2024 33% 38% 26% 3%
Jun 2024 36% 37% 26% 1%
May 2024 35% 34% 29% 2%
Apr 2024 36% 38% 25% 1%
Mar 2024 34% 41% 24% 1%
Feb 2024 33% 40% 26% 1%
Jan 2024 28% 41% 30% 1%
Dec 2023 25% 38% 36% 1%
Nov 2023 25% 40% 34% 1%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 30% say better than today, 52% say the same as today, and 15% say worse than today. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, 45% say better than today, 43% say the same as today, and 17% 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 319 Republicans, 310 Democrats, 371 independents, and 100 non-voters in the sample.

Sample Dates: November 17-20, 2024

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?

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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