Story Highlights
- Biden is viewed favorably by 41% of American adults, compared to 49% in October 2020.
- Trump’s 42% favorable rating is down slightly from 2020’s 45%.
- Biden experienced the greatest loss of support among young adults and people of color
WASHINGTON, DC — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are tied in support of the American people, but each is viewed less favorably than when the two faced off in 2020.
Biden is viewed favorably by 41% of American adults, eight percentage points below his favorable rating of 49% in October 2020. trend in his job approval ratingshis favorability is down more than 15 points from his high ratings above 50% during his first year as president.
Trump’s 42% favorable rating is slightly lower than his 45% reading in October 2020, but improved from his lower ratings of 2021 and 2022 when he faced intense criticism over his handling of election results, including the January 6 riots.
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The latest results come from a Gallup poll of 1,013 American adults conducted Dec. 1-20. While these ratings represent the general sentiment of the American people toward the two candidates for the 2024 presidential nomination, they do not necessarily reflect the opinions of voters who go to the polls in November.
The same poll measured Americans’ overall impressions of Trump’s primary rivals for the Republican presidential nomination — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley — as well as independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy easily tops the list with a 52% favorable rating, while Haley and DeSantis are each viewed favorably by about a third. However, Haley’s net view is the more positive of the two, given his lowest unfavorable rating (34% to DeSantis’ 52%). A larger share of Americans have no opinion on Haley (34%) than DeSantis (16%), but Haley’s numbers preceded recent controversy over her responses at a New Hampshire town hall when she failed to mention slavery as the cause of the problem. American Civil War.
It is unclear to what extent Kennedy’s rating is influenced by his last name rather than people’s knowledge of him personally. However, his much bigger hurdle to eligibility at this point is petitioning as an independent in enough states to be a viable candidate.
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Among Republicans, Trump is the best perceived (with 79% favorable, 19% unfavorable), followed by DeSantis (63%, 24%) and then Haley (44%, 24%). Again, Haley’s numbers are lower because many more Republicans say they don’t know her well enough to express an opinion (or haven’t heard of her) than DeSantis can’t comment on.
Biden’s image declines most among non-white youth and adults
Since winning the presidency, Biden’s approval rating has fallen among nearly every major subgroup in society, but the decline has been particularly pronounced among two: young adults and people of color.
After receiving similar ratings near 50% across all age groups in October 2020, Biden is now viewed most favorably by older adults (47%) and least favorably by those aged 18 to 34 (30% ). The 18-point drop in his rating among young adults is double what he suffered among middle-aged adults, while he lost almost no ground among older adults.
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Although it is not possible to separately examine this trend among Black or Hispanic adults due to small sample sizes, Biden continues to be viewed more favorably by people of color in general than by white adults. However, its rating is much lower today than in October 2020 among people of color (down 16 points to 48%) than among white adults (down four points to 38%).
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Biden has also lost more support since the 2020 election among supporters of his own party (down 13 points to 82%) than among independents (down nine points to 38%). There was little change among Republicans, given the tiny percentage who initially viewed him favorably.
While young adults are cool toward Biden, they are not receptive to Trump
Although they feel less positively about Biden, young adults’ views of Trump are no different today than in October 2020, with 42% viewing him positively now as they did in October 2020. were doing then. Trump’s rating has also returned to 44% among middle-aged adults, while it is seven points lower, at 41%, among adults 55 and older.
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In contrast, after seeing his support drop to 15% among people of color in 2021, Trump’s image among this group has more than rebounded. People of color are now eight points more likely to view him favorably than they were heading into the 2020 election (35% now versus 27% then). White adults, however, are less positive toward Trump today (46%) than in 2020 (54%).
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Trump also lost ground among college graduates (down nine points in favor) and Republicans (down 16 points), while seeing little to no change among non-college graduates, independents or Democrats .
Biden and Trump ratings differ by gender, age, race and education
The net result of these changes is that Biden and Trump are now viewed favorably by roughly equal percentages of Americans, but Trump has the best image among men, young adults, white adults, non-college graduates and Republicans, while Biden is better seen by Americans. women, older Americans, people of color, college graduates, and Democrats.
Middle-aged adults and independents currently have similar views of Biden and Trump, consistent with national averages.
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Meanwhile, sitting in the political wings, Kennedy enjoys majority-level favorable views from most subgroups of Americans, including all major gender, race, and age groups. Despite his Democratic name and long-standing party affiliation, he is viewed favorably by the majority of Republicans and independents, compared to about four in ten Democrats.
Conclusion
Since the 2020 election, Biden’s favorability has shifted – initially improving during his first year in office, as usually happens for winning candidates, but then collapsing in 2022, likely reflecting the decline in his approval rating amid perceived policy failures. His approval rating has since remained at a lower level, with his image particularly damaged among young adults and people of color, a major concern for the Democratic Party since these are two key constituencies it needs to win.
Trump is not the direct beneficiary of all of Biden’s image problems, as his own favorable rating is slightly worse than at the time of the last election. But he gained enough among people of color to almost offset his nine-point drop in popularity among white adults.
Although Kennedy still has a long way to go to demonstrate that his candidacy is viable, he has not yet faced the scrutiny that comes with the position. This may partly explain why it is currently viewed favorably by half or more of adults, including in many subgroups. However, if his positive image persists and all three candidates end up on the ballot in November, Kennedy could appeal to this segment of voters who resist Biden but are also unconvinced by Trump.
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