According to a recent poll, President Joe Biden currently holds the lowest approval rating of any president in the last 70 years, trailing behind Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon. The Gallup Poll, conducted during the first quarter of 2024, revealed a dismal 38.7% job approval rating for Biden, three points lower than George H.W. Bush’s rating at the same point in his presidency. This marks Biden’s 13th quarter in office, with an average approval rating of 38.7%, the worst performance of any first-term president since Dwight Eisenhower.
The poll noted that Biden’s position is particularly precarious with only six months left before Election Day, making him the weakest incumbent in recent history. Despite winning the 2020 election with a record 81 million votes, Biden now finds himself as the least popular president in the last seven decades.
In contrast, at this stage in his presidency, former President Donald Trump enjoyed an approval rating of 46.8%. Eisenhower, on the other hand, boasted the highest rating at 73.2%, while even Nixon and Carter scored higher with ratings of 53.7% and 47.7%, respectively.
Since Eisenhower’s presidency began in 1952, Gallup’s presidential approval surveys have been a reliable indicator of reelection success. Historically, every incumbent with an approval rating above 50% has been reelected to a second term. The only exception was former President Barack Obama, who won reelection in 2012 despite a 46% approval rating six months before the general election.
Biden’s approval ratings have been consistently low, hovering in the low 40s since the first year of his presidency. This quarter’s drop to a new low is attributed to several factors, including the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, a worsening border situation, and rising inflation. Gallup’s data shows that after 39 months in office, Biden has the lowest popularity rating of any elected chief executive in modern American history.