The latest research by Redfield & Wilton Strategies finds that 44% of Americans disapprove and 41% approve of President Joe Biden’s overall job performance as President. His net approval rating, at -3%, is five points higher than in our polling on 5 December, when 45% disapproved and 37% approved of Biden’s performance.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ net approval rating has also slightly improved compared to two weeks ago, increasing three points to -4% this week. In our latest poll, 41% disapprove (down 1%) and 37% approve (up 2%) of Kamala Harris’ performance as Vice President, with a further 18% neither approving nor disapproving (no change).
On matters of policy, the coronavirus pandemic remains the area in which the Joe Biden Administration elicits its highest net approval rating. At +6%, net approval regarding the Administration’s performance in this area has improved by five points compared to two weeks ago, placing it in more substantially positive territory again. 44% of Americans approve (up 3%) and 38% disapprove (down 2%) of the Administration’s performance on the pandemic.
For the first time since our polling on 31 October, the environment has again become the second policy area in which net approval of the Administration’s performance is positive, now at +5% (up 8%). On education, the Administration now receives a neutral net approval rating of ±0.
In all other policy areas, Americans give the current Administration negative net approval ratings, ranging from -4% (up 10%) on housing to -18% (up 7%) on immigration.
Though these net approval ratings remain negative, they have improved notably compared to our polling two weeks ago. The Administration’s net approval rating on the economy, for instance, now stands at -5% (up 7%), and its performance on national security and defense now elicits a -5% (up 4%) net approval rating.
Looking ahead to the 2024 Presidential Election, the economy is the top issue that Americans say will determine how they will vote in the election. When asked to select up to three issues that are most likely to determine how they vote in 2024, 56% select the economy, 35% select the coronavirus pandemic, 35% select healthcare, and 25% select immigration as determinative election issues.
The economy is the most-selected option for both 2020 Joe Biden (52%) and Donald Trump (66%) voters. Other important election issues for Biden voters include healthcare (47%) and the pandemic (46%), while Trump voters are more likely to select immigration (38%) and Government spending (28%).
Our latest hypothetical voting intention finds Donald Trump ahead of Joe Biden, with 44% saying they would vote for Trump (up 2%) and 38% saying they would vote for Biden (no change), after weighting by likelihood to vote. This poll marks the third lead for Donald Trump over Joe Biden that we have seen in our national polling, including polls conducted in advance of the 2020 Election. A further 12% say they don’t know how they would vote (down 4%).
Large majorities of 2020 Donald Trump voters (87%, up 1%) and Joe Biden voters (75%, down 4%) maintain that they would again vote for those respective candidates.
