Biden's approval rating sets record low

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Democrat President Joe Biden undoubtedly has a number of issues that contribute to his low approval ratings, including his handling of the Ukraine crisis, the pandemic response, a border crisis, and low ratings for personal qualities such as leadership, crisis management, and mental sharpness.

Republicans have an advantage heading into the 2022 midterm elections, in which the Republican Party hopes to reclaim control of Congress, owing to Biden's low approval ratings and US citizens' deep dissatisfaction with rising inflation.

The president's approval rating has dropped to 37%, with 55% disapproving, a 4 percentage point drop since November, and a 15 percentage point drop since April 2021, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll released on Sunday.

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Only 30% of political independents and 10% of Republicans back the president.

Even within his own party, nearly a quarter of Democrats either disapprove (19%) or are undecided (19%) of Biden (4 percent).

The economy (37 percent approve, 58 percent disapprove) and the COVID-19 pandemic (44 percent approve, 50 percent disapprove) are dragging Biden's ratings down, according to the poll.

There's also the matter of Biden's personal qualities, which are linked to his overall popularity rating. In a crisis, 43% believe he can be trusted, while 52% believe he cannot.

Only 36% believe he is a strong leader, a 7-point drop from the previous poll during the 2020 campaign, while 59% do not. In addition, 40 percent believe he has the mental acuity required to serve effectively, down 11 points from spring 2020, while a majority of 54 percent do not.

US citizens believe Republicans will do a better job managing the economy than Democrats, by a margin of 54 percent to 35 percent, a 7-point increase since November. Those polled, however, gave Democrats a slight edge in terms of who they trust with the pandemic response (43 percent vs. 37 percent) and education (44 percent vs. 41 percent).

When asked about the upcoming midterm elections, US citizens said they would prefer a Republican-controlled Congress to act as a check on Biden's policies by a 50-40 percent margin. Democrats had a 16-point lead in this poll heading into the 2018 midterm elections, when they won 40 seats during Trump's presidency, according to the poll. The margins are more similar to those achieved by Republicans in 2010 and 2014, when they won 13 and 63 seats, respectively, during Barack Obama's presidency.

If the election were held today, 49 percent of registered voters would support a Republican House candidate, while 42 percent would support a Democrat. The advantage grows to 54–41 percent among Americans who say they are registered to vote and will vote in November.

Pollsters noted that Biden has one of the lowest approval ratings of any president as he prepares to deliver his first State of the Union address on Tuesday. 

Only former President Donald Trump, who reportedly had a 36% approval rating, had a lower approval rating. Former President Gerald Ford is tied with Biden in the polls with 37%.

The poll was conducted between February 20 and 24, among 1,011 adult Americans. It has a 4.0 percentage point margin of error.