As President Biden prepares to deliver his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night, his approval rating sits at 44 percent, CBS News reports.
According to Gallup, Biden took office with an approval rating of 57 percent but dropped below 50 during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in August. His poll numbers continued to fall as the worst inflation in 40 years took a toll on Americans' wallets, bottoming out at 40 percent in early-to-mid January.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that, in his speech, Biden plans to address inflation, "talk about steps to lower consumer prices," and tout the strong labor market recovery he's overseen.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Unfortunately for Biden, if history is any indicator, none of that will do much to boost his approval rating.
When former President Donald Trump delivered his first SOTU on Jan. 30, 2018, his approval rating stood at 38 percent. It then briefly climbed to 40 before dropping to 37 by mid-February, Gallup polling shows.
Gallup recorded a small bump — from 48 to 50 percent — in President Barack Obama's approval rating in the days after his first State of the Union.
President George W. Bush's approval rating actually went down after his first address on Jan. 29, 2002, but to be fair, it couldn't have gotten much higher. With the 9/11 attacks still fresh in their minds, 84 percent of Americans said they approved of Bush's job performance before he gave the speech compared to 82 percent after.
President Bill Clinton saw his poll numbers jump from 54 to 58 percent after his first SOTU, but within a month he was back down to 53.
-
How ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ has brought out the worst in its fansIn the Spotlight Amazon’s love-triangle hit ‘driving some of the most bonkers and unhinged online energy in the history of the internet’
-
Human evolution may be responsible for autism ratesUnder the radar Neurodiversity and a complex brain may go hand in hand
-
Codeword: September 17, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
‘We must empower young athletes with the knowledge to stay safe’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
Why are Trump's health rumors about more than just presidential fitness?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Extended absences and unexplained bruises have raised concerns about both his well-being and his administration's transparency
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
