And the rough poll numbers keep rolling in.
According to YouGov/The Economist polling, support for President Biden among Americans under 30 has taken quite the beating this year — an average of just 29 percent of these young voters now approve of the job Biden's doing as president, compared with an average of 50 percent who disapprove. That net rating of -21 points "is the worst for any age group," writes The Economist.
It's quite the reversal from the start of 2021, "when young voters gave [Biden] a net approval rating 32 points higher than older people did."
So what's to blame? Some respondents told YouGov the president hadn't yet done enough to combat issues of climate change and health care; others cited Biden's unfulfilled student debt promises as reasons for disapproval. Those surveyed may have also been feeling particularly "energized" by recent abortion-related Supreme Court cases, considering young people tend to care the most about issues of reproductive and civil rights, notes The Economist.
Whatever the issue, support for Biden among the young was much stronger when former President Donald Trump was their alternative; without the threat of Trump, the "president's policies are coming under increasing scrutiny." Read more at The Economist.