NEW POLL: Biden Approval Surges 8 Points Following State of the Union Speech

Tommy ChristopherMar 4th, 2022, 1:15 pm
811 comments
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 01: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the U.S. Capitol House Chamber on March 1, 2022 in Washington, DC. In his first State of the Union address, Biden spoke on his administration’s efforts to lead a global response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, work to curb inflation, and bring the country out of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Saul Loeb - Pool/Getty Images)

Saul Loeb – Pool/Getty Images

President Joe Biden’s approval surged 8 points in one poll following his State of the Union address, and other data seems to indicate the potential for a wider polling bounce.

The president’s approval was riding high for the first several months of his presidency, but then sank as events like the Delta Covid surge and the Afghanistan withdrawal took their toll on his popularity.

And despite phenomenal job growth and other extremely positive economic indicators, inflation has also contributed to keeping Biden’s approval right around 40 percent — or even lower.

But a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll taken following Tuesday’s State of the Union address showed an 8-point bounce from the last NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, which was taken in February.

From NPR:

  • Overall approval rating jumped to 47%, up 8 points from the NPR poll last month. Presidents don’t generally see much, if any bounce, out of a State of the Union address. Since 1978, there had only been six times when a president saw an approval rating improve 4 points or more following State of the Union addresses, according to the pollsters. Three of those bounces were for former President Bill Clinton;
  • Ukraine handling is up 18 points to 52%;
  • Coronavirus pandemic handling is now 55%, up 8 points; and
  • Economic handling up 8 points to 45%

Biden’s approval in this poll is the highest it has been since last June.

And earlier this week, Politico got a look at some polling data that had them asking if Biden could expect to get a “Ukraine bounce”:

Considering the relatively wide consensus around Biden’s approach, one would imagine he’d be enjoying something of a political bounce. But the polls indicate that while the public supports the components of Biden’s Ukraine policy, they are mixed on his leadership.

Data from the firm Data for Progress, shared exclusively with us, shows that 77 percent of respondents support sanctions directly against VLADIMIR PUTIN ; 72 percent support providing $600 million in military support to Ukraine; and even 57 percent support sending 7,000 troops to support European allies but not to Ukraine itself — all steps Biden has taken. By contrast, a paltry 45 percent of respondents approved of Biden’s overall “response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” while 48 percent did not approve.

Time will tell if this is the beginning of a durable comeback for the president’s approval ratings, as well as the course of events in Ukraine and the trajectory of the pandemic.

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