37% approve, 59% disapprove of Biden, unchanged from last month’s ratings
32% approve of Biden’s handling of foreign affairs, economy, Middle East conflict
Democrats’ ratings of Biden worst for the Middle East conflict
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden’s job approval rating remains at 37%, tying his personal low, with disapproval at 59%. Approval ratings of the president’s handling of healthcare (40%) and the situation in Ukraine (38%) are similar to his overall rating, while fewer, 32% each, approve of his handling of the economy, foreign affairs, and the situation between the Israelis and Palestinians.
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Gallup’s Nov. 1-21 poll marks the third time Biden’s overall job approval rating has been at 37%. All three instances have occurred in 2023 — the first in April and the second in October. Biden’s job rating has not risen above 44% since August 2022 and has averaged 40% this year.
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Gallup has measured Biden’s ratings on the economy and foreign affairs 10 times since he took office in 2021, and his ratings on the two issues have followed similar trajectories. Yet, in 2022, when inflation was at a 40-year high, and earlier this year, Biden’s foreign affairs ratings were significantly better than his economic ratings.
Biden’s current rating on the economy is just one percentage point higher than his lowest in 2022, while his foreign affairs rating is the lowest by six points.
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Biden continues to navigate the United States’ role in wars between the Israelis and Palestinians and Russia and Ukraine, and he garners weak ratings for his handling of each. Americans’ current rating of the president’s handling of the situation in Ukraine is the lowest of four taken by Gallup and is down nine points since August.
The latest poll marks the first time Gallup has asked about Biden’s handling of the situation in the Middle East that erupted when Hamas militants invaded Israel on Oct. 7.
Democrats’ Ratings of Biden Worst on Middle East Conflict
While majorities of Democrats approve of Biden’s overall job performance and his handling of all five issues, their approval is lowest for the situation between the Israelis and Palestinians. In all, 60% of Democrats approve of his handling of the conflict, reflecting intraparty tensions over Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas versus prioritizing the safety of Palestinian civilians. A separate question in the poll finds that 36% of Democrats approve of Israel’s military action against Hamas.
Meanwhile, two-thirds of Democrats approve of Biden’s job on foreign affairs, and roughly three-quarters each approve of his handling of the economy, healthcare policy and the situation in Ukraine. At the same time, no more than 16% of Republicans or 35% of independents approve of Biden’s handling of any of the issues. Republicans are most approving of Biden’s handling of the Middle East situation, while independents give him his best marks on healthcare policy.
More than four in five Democrats, 83%, approve of Biden’s overall job performance, compared with 5% of Republicans and 27% of independents.
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Biden Approval Recovers Among Democrats but Falters Among Independents
After dropping 11 points last month, Democrats’ latest approval rating of Biden has rebounded and is up eight points to 83%. Still, it falls short of the nearly unanimous approval Biden enjoyed from his party during the first 11 months of his presidency.
Meanwhile, Biden’s approval rating from political independents has dropped eight points over the past month to a record-low 27% for that group, while he continues to earn minimal approval, just 5%, from Republicans.
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Bottom Line
With less than a year to go until the presidential election, Biden continues to receive tepid ratings from the American public. His overall job approval rating is still at his personal low and is in historically dangerous territory for an incumbent seeking reelection. In addition, political independents’ record-low rating of Biden is striking. Biden’s even weaker ratings on the economy, foreign affairs and the Middle East suggest that his performance in these areas is dragging down his overall job performance rating.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the country’s merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $1.3 billion in September as imports fell more than exports.
The result compared with a revised deficit of $1.5 billion for August. The initial estimate for August released last month had shown a deficit of $1.1 billion.
Statistics Canada says the results for September came as total exports edged down 0.1 per cent to $63.9 billion.
Exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products fell 5.4 per cent as exports of unwrought gold, silver, and platinum group metals, and their alloys, decreased 15.4 per cent. Exports of energy products dropped 2.6 per cent as lower prices weighed on crude oil exports.
Meanwhile, imports for September fell 0.4 per cent to $65.1 billion as imports of metal and non-metallic mineral products dropped 12.7 per cent.
In volume terms, total exports rose 1.4 per cent in September while total imports were essentially unchanged in September.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
