Ipsos Core Political : Presidential Approval Tracker (02/16/2022)

Washington, DC, February 16, 2022 – This week’s Ipsos’ Core Political illustrates President Biden’s waning support among Republicans and independents on specific issues as his overall approval rating stands at 44% this week.

The majority of Americans (58%) continue to believe the country is off on the wrong track. This is particularly true among Republicans (81%) and independents (63%), but about two in five (38%) of Democrats believe it as well.

One out of five (22%) Americans believe the economy, unemployment, and jobs is the country’s most pressing issue. Meanwhile, crime and corruption is now believed to be the second most important problem facing the nation, followed by public health (9%) and the healthcare system (9%).

Republicans continue to be most concerned about the economy (30%), followed by immigration (13%) and crime or corruption (12%). While the economy is also the top issue among Democrats (17%) and independents (22%), it is to a lesser degree. Democrats are also almost equally concerned about the healthcare system (14%) and the environment (13%). For independents, crime or corruption (14%) is the second most important issue.

More Americans (51%) disapprove of President Biden’s job performance than approve (44%).

Republicans (16%) remain extremely critical of Biden’s job performance. Democrats, on the other hand, are much more likely to be supportive, with 82% reporting they approve of how he is handling the job. Meanwhile, just under a third (32%) of independents report that they approve.

Americans would like President Biden to prioritize handling the U.S. economy (43%) above other issues. About a quarter of Americans also say they would like him to prioritize the COVID-19 pandemic (26%).

Republicans and independents would like Biden to prioritize the economy (55% and 43% respectively) more than other issues. Among Democrats, COVID-19 (37%), and the economy (35%) are both seen as priority issues for Biden to address.

Approval of how Biden is handling the nation’s top issues has decreased over the past couple of months. COVID-19 remains the issue he performs the best on but his approval on it has fallen four points since mid-December of last year (53% to 49%), while his approval on the environment has dropped five points (from 51% to 46%). Other issues show similar trends.

Unsurprisingly, Biden’s approval has dropped the most among Republicans and independents. On the economy, Republicans’ approval has decreased by six points (19% to 13%). On corruption, his approval has fallen by eight points among Republicans (18% to 10%). Among independents, his approval on COVID-19 has fallen by thirteen points (from 48% to 35%) and by eighteen points for the environment (from 54% to 36%). His approval among Democrats has held relatively steady though.

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between February 14-15, 2022. For this survey, a sample of 1,005 Americans age 18+ from the continental U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii were interviewed online in English. The sample includes 429 Democrats, 365 Republicans, and 139 independents. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Americans been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including but not limited to coverage error and measurement error. The poll also has a credibility interval of ± 5.8 percentage points for Democrats, ± 6.3 percentage points for Republicans, and ± 10.2 percentage points for independents.  

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Chris Jackson
Senior Vice President, US
Public Affairs
+1 202 420-2025
[email protected]

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