, Columnist
How to Read Biden’s Low Approval Ratings Right Now
Overall it is outcomes, not policies, that influence presidential popularity — regardless of what voters think makes them like or dislike someone.
Is it really about him?
Photographer: Ting Shen/Bloomberg
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This is a big week for President Joe Biden. For months, he’s had the second-worst approval rating of any polling-era president at the same point in their presidencies, trailing only Donald Trump. This week, he has passed Jimmy Carter, moving up into third worst. Within the next month, he’ll likely move ahead of Gerald Ford as well.
Yes, those are three of the four sitting presidents (along with George H.W. Bush) to lose a presidential election during the polling era. So maybe not that big a week.