Biden’s speech to Congress earns high marks from viewers

Washington, DC, April 29, 2021 – Nearly three-quarters who watched or heard about President Joe Biden’s joint session to Congress approve of the president’s remarks, according to an Ipsos snap poll for Reuters fielded in the hours immediately following the speech. Among all respondents, three in five (or more) support the policies the president outlined in his speech – from 12 weeks of paid family leave to passing the American Jobs Plan – but deep partisan divisions remain, and this support is primarily driven by strong majorities of Democrats backing these policies.

Detailed findings:

A broad majority of those aware of the president’s speech approve of his message – including near universal approval from Democrats.

• Overall, more than two-thirds of respondents (68%) either watched the speech or have read or heard about it. Significantly more Democrats (81%) than Republicans (58%) tuned in.
• Among this group, 73% approve of the president’s message, including 95% of Democrats, 68% of Independents, and 40% of Republicans.

From the scope of the speech to the presence of two women on the dais, a majority of all respondents view Biden’s speech as historic.

• Regardless of whether they tuned in or not, three-quarters (74%) acknowledge the presence of a female Vice President and Speaker of the House behind Biden was a historic moment. Nearly half, 46%, believe it was very historic.
• Two-thirds (65%) believe the smaller audience, due to COVID-19 protocols, was historic, and 60% acknowledge the actual scale and scope of Biden’s proposals was historic. This last point is bolstered by a strong majority of Democrats: 86% believe Biden’s proposals to be historic.

A majority of respondents – 60% or more – support the proposals Biden outlined. However, no proposal earns bipartisan support, and significant partisan gaps remain.

• The survey tested seven policy proposals that came from Biden’s speech. Requiring all employers to provide 12 weeks of guaranteed paid family and medical leave earns the strongest support (69%), while slightly fewer – but still a majority – support passing a comprehensive immigration bill that provides a pathway to citizenship and increased border security (60%).
• A vast majority of Democrats (80% or more) support these proposals, and a majority of Independents support each as well. No proposal earns support from a majority of Republicans, though two earn support from a plurality: 12 weeks of paid family leave (49%) and increasing IRS audits and enforcement of wealthy Americans’ tax returns (48%).

Similar to the policy proposals, most approve of select rhetoric Biden used in his speech. These words also show some broad areas where Democrats and Republicans align.

• Three-quarters (76%) agree that America cannot let its guard down now against the pandemic, including 88% of Democrats, 72% of Independents, and 65% of Republicans.
• Partisans also agree that “Wall Street did not build the United States, the middle class and unions built the United States.” Overall, 72% agree with this sentiment, including majorities of those from each side of the aisle.
• President Biden also said in his speech that “white supremacy is terrorism,” a sentiment 63% agree with, overall. This support is driven by Democrats (81%), while Republicans are split (45% agree, 42% disagree).

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll on behalf of Reuters conducted between 10:30pm ET on April 28, 2021 to the early morning hours of April 29, 2021. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 adults age 18-65 from the continental U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii was interviewed online in English. The sample includes 290 Republicans, 360 Democrats, and 350 Independents/Other.

The sample was randomly drawn from Ipsos’ online panel, partner online panel sources, and “river” sampling and does not rely on a population frame in the traditional sense. Ipsos uses fixed sample targets, unique to each study, in drawing a sample. After a sample has been obtained from the Ipsos panel, Ipsos calibrates respondent characteristics to be representative of the U.S. Population using standard procedures such as raking-ratio adjustments. The source of these population targets is U.S. Census 2018 American Community Survey data. The sample drawn for this study reflects fixed sample targets on demographics. Posthoc weights were made to the population characteristics on gender, age, race/ethnicity, region, and education.

Statistical margins of error are not applicable to online non-probability polls. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error and measurement error. Where figures do not sum to 100, this is due to the effects of rounding. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for all respondents. Ipsos calculates a design effect (DEFF) for each study based on the variation of the weights, following the formula of Kish (1965). This study had a credibility interval adjusted for design effect of the following (n=1,000, DEFF=1.5, adjusted Confidence Interval=+/-5.0 percentage points).

The poll also has a credibility interval of plus or minus 6.6 percentage points for Republicans, plus or minus 5.9 percentage points for Democrats, and plus or minus 6.0 percentage points for Independents/Other.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

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

Mallory Newall
Director, US
Public Affairs
+1 202 420-2014
[email protected]

Kate Silverstein
Media Relations, US
Public Affairs
+1 718 755-8829
[email protected]

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