According to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden’s approval rating fell in January as Americans are concerned over the economy and immigration.
Only 38 per cent of respondents claimed to approve of Biden’s performance as president, down from 40 per cent in December.
His public approval rating has stayed below 50 per cent since August 2021, prompting unease among Democrats as he is expected to rival former Republican President Donald Trump in November’s election. A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll earlier this month found Trump leading the match-up by six percentage points.
17% of respondents cited immigration as the biggest issue the US faces today, up from 11% who cited it as the most pressing problem in December. It was the top concern of Republican respondents, with 36% citing it as their primary care, while 29% named the economy.
Authorities are grappling with a new challenge at the US-Mexico border, while Republicans in Congress threatened to derail a bipartisan effort to address the issue, as the number of detainees reached nearly 11,000 in a single day in December, according to US Border Patrol reports. Republicans now intend to hold Alejandro Majorkas, Biden’s top border official and Homeland Security secretary, accountable.
However, the economy remains Americans’ top concern, as cited by 22% of survey respondents, with the country struggling with inflation and other consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly two-thirds of respondents, including 47% of Democrats, stated that the country was on the wrong path.
The online poll of 1,019 US adults was conducted from Friday to Sunday, with a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points for all respondents.
