Ipsos Core Political Survey: Presidential Approval Tracker (12/7/2022)
Washington, DC, December 7, 2022 – This week’s Ipsos Core Political shows Americans’ continued concern over the direction the country is headed in and a desire for President Biden to address the economy. Only 38% of Americans approve of Biden’s performance in office, ten points lower than this time last year.
Detailed Findings
Americans remain pessimistic about the direction the country is headed in with the majority saying things are off on the wrong track (65%). Only 1 in 5 believe things in this country are headed in the right direction (21%). Republicans (88%) and independents (63%) are most likely to believe things are off on the wrong track, followed by 45% of Democrats.
The economy (32%) and crime or corruption (11%) are the top two issues for Americans today. They are followed by a three-way tie for third place between the environment and climate (7%), immigration (7%), and the healthcare system (7%). One in four Democrats believe the economy is the most important problem (25%), followed by the environment and climate (12%), and a tie between crime or corruption (9%) and the healthcare system (9%). Two in five Republicans believe the economy is the most important problem (41%), followed by crime or corruption (14%), and immigration (12%). Finally, around one in three independents believe the economy is the most important problem (31%), followed by crime or corruption (11%).
Thirty-eight percent of Americans approve of President Biden’s performance in office, while 56% disapprove. At around this time last year, 48% of Americans approved of President Biden.
Three-quarters of Democrats still approve of President Biden’s performance in office, but only 27% of independents and 11% of Republicans approve.
Half of Americans want President Biden to prioritize addressing the U.S. economy (55%), and 22% want him to prioritize employment and jobs. COVID-19 (8%) and international trade (2%) are the lowest priorities for Americans.
A closer look at this question demonstrates a desire for Biden to prioritize the economy across party lines, with 64% of Republicans saying so, followed by 55% of independents and 48% of Democrats. Subsequent priorities are not as aligned though, with Democrats saying it should be the environment (27%), while Republicans believe it should be immigration (30%), and independents say it should be employment and jobs (21%).
COVID-19 may be one of Americans’ lowest priorities but they approve of Biden's handling of the issue the most, with 49% saying the approve. This is followed by the environment (43%) and racial inequality (41%).
President Biden receives his highest approval marks from Democrats, on issues such as COVID-19 (78%), employment and jobs (71%), and the environment (71%). Republicans are least likely to approve of the way Biden has been handling things, particularly when it comes to corruption (11%) and inflation (11%).
About the Study
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between December 5-6, 2022. For this survey, a sample of 1,004 Americans age 18+ from the continental U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii were interviewed online in English. The sample includes 425 Democrats, 361 Republicans, and 148 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 ± 9.9 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]
Annaleise Lohr
Director, US
Public Affairs
[email protected]
About Ipsos
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