Public Opinion Analysis –
By Glynn Wilson –

The story is so far so good for President Joe Biden in his first 100 days in office as a clear majority of Americans support the job he is doing. Public opinion survey research shows his job approval rating at 57 percent positive, according to the latest Gallup poll.

It’s worth noting that Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump never reached majority support of 50 percent in his four tumultuous years in the White House. Only 41 percent of Americans rated him positively in his first 100 days.

It’s also worth nothing that Barack Obama was far more popular. The first African American president enjoyed a 65 percent positive rating after his first 100 days.

Public approval of Biden in his first 100 days is similar to the ratings of George W. Bush, who Gallup had at 58 percent in 2001, and Bill Clinton, who stood at 55 percent in 1993.

“Of the other two presidents who served during the past three decades, Obama, with a 63 percent first-quarter approval rating, was above par for the period, while Trump was well below par, averaging an all-time low of 41 percent,” Gallup says in its analysis.

But the data shows that America is still divided along partisan lines, with 94 percent of Democrats rating Biden’s performance positively, while only 11 percent of Republicans say they approve of him.

His current ratings by gender, age, race and education are also predictable, with higher support from women, younger adults, non-whites and college graduates than older, uneducated white men.

Gallup’s Bottom Line

“Biden took office with a fairly normal level of popularity for recent presidents and has not done anything to shake that support with the American people,” Gallup says. “As evidenced by the great variation in the trajectory of past presidents’ first-year approval ratings, where Biden’s approval rating goes from here will be dictated by political, economic and global factors both within and beyond his control. However, extreme partisan differences in how he’s viewed, should they persist, could limit the upper and lower bounds of his job approval rating, thereby limiting its movement.”

Washington Post Poll

In a similar poll released Sunday, the Washington Post only has Biden’s job approval at 52 percent overall, compared with 42 percent who disapprove of him and the job he has done so far.

“At this point in his presidency four years ago, Trump’s rating was nearly the reverse, with approval at 42 percent and disapproval at 53 percent,” The Post analysts say. “Overall, 34 percent of Americans say they strongly approve of Biden’s performance, compared with 35 percent who strongly disapprove.”

Biden receives the highest marks for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with 64 percent of adults — including 33 percent of Republicans — giving him positive ratings, according to The Post poll.

“His approval rating for his handling of the economy stands at 52 percent. But 53 percent say they disapprove of the way he has dealt with the immigration situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, a problem that has vexed his administration for much of its first months.”

The president’s first major initiative was a nearly $2 trillion coronavirus relief package, approved by Congress on party-line votes. Despite the divisions among lawmakers, the American Rescue Package receives strong public support, with 65 percent saying they back the plan compared with 31 percent opposed.

Just over 9 in 10 Democrats support it, as do 1 in 3 Republicans and around 6 in 10 independents. The poll finds that Republicans with incomes below $75,000 are considerably more supportive of the package than are those with higher incomes.

Biden’s newly proposed $2 trillion infrastructure plan, which has not been acted upon by Congress, receives less support than the covid stimulus package, with 52 percent saying they favor it and 35 percent opposed. Broken down by party identification, 82 percent of Democrats, 51 percent of independents and 17 percent of Republicans give the measure their support.

Biden has proposed paying for the infrastructure plan by raising the corporate tax rate, which once stood at 35 percent but was lowered to 21 percent during Trump’s presidency. Biden has recommended that it be raised to 28 percent, and the new poll shows that 58 percent of Americans say they support the increase.

“Again, views are partisan,” according to The Post. “More than 8 in 10 Democrats back the increase, while 2 in 3 Republicans oppose it. A narrower majority of independents say they support the 28 percent figure.”

Related: The American Jobs Plan and Biden’s Made In America Tax Plan Explained

As the data indicates, Biden will most likely never be as popular as Obama, or as unpopular as Trump. His best hope is to keeping showing up doing the job and saying the rights things, and restoring some trust in the federal government by reversing Trump’s destructive policies and hiring practices and bringing merit hiring and common sensible policies back and making American democracy work again.