Biden's approval ratings remain low even amid threat of war

Although American voters have long rallied around the president in the face of an international crisis, a new Wall Street Journal poll has shown that not even the threat of war with Russia has been able to save President Joe Biden’s cratering approval ratings.

According to the report published Friday, a mere 42% of Americans approve of Biden’s performance, while 57% said they disapproved. These numbers roughly mirror the results of a mid-November WSJ poll and show that Biden’s relatively well received response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent threats of nuclear war has not been enough to sway Americans to fall behind the president.

In contrast, the Cuban missile crisis, arguably the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war, helped President John F. Kennedy’s approval rating jump from 61% in October 1962 to 76% by December of the same year.

Similarly, after terrorists attacked American targets on Sept. 11. 2001, President George W. Bush’s ratings rose from 51% on Sept. 10 to 85% by Sept. 15 and 90% just a week later – marking the highest presidential approval rating ever.

Even President Obama saw an increase in public support after a U.S. Navy Seals raid successfully killed Osama Bin Laden with his approval rating jumping by 6% from 46% before the mission to 52% three days after.

Americans generally appear to approve of how Biden has handled the trouble brewing in Europe with 50% of voters saying they approve of how he’s dealt with Russia and 44% disapproving.

Still, Biden's approach to the war in Ukraine has been generally well received by Americans. Half of voters said they approved of how he has dealt with Russia, with 44 percent disapproving. Asked separately how he’s handled the crisis in Ukraine, however, less than half of those polled said they approved of the president’s approach with 47% saying they approved and 46% saying they disapproved.  

But rising costs at the grocery store and at the pump appear to be Americans’ top concern and 50% of voters reported they believed tackling inflation should be the Biden administration’s primary concern.

The data shows that 63% of voters presently disapprove of how Biden has handled inflation and, troublingly for Democrats, 47% of voters reported they believed Republicans were better suited to handle inflation, compared to 30% who said Democrats.

The Wall Street Journal poll surveyed 1,500 registered voters from March 2-7, and reported having a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points. Eleven percent of those polled identified as Latino.