Reuters / Ipsos Core Political Survey: Presidential Approval Tracker February 2023

Washington, DC, February 8, 2023 – This month’s Core Political shows  President Joe Biden’s approval rating remaining stable, but low, while a strong majority of the country believes America is headed in the wrong direction.

Detailed Findings

The economy remains the number one issue this month (21%), but this number fell 5 points from January. Crime and corruption is the second most frequently cited issue (14%), up 4 points from January. Immigration (8%) and the environment and climate (8%) continue to round out the top four issues. Republicans (28%) are most likely to say that the economy is the most important issue, followed by immigration (18%) and crime and corruption (14%). Democrats (16%) and independents (20%) agree that the economy is the most important issue, but less so than Republicans. Democrats are equally concerned about inequality (13%), the environment and climate (12%), healthcare system (12%), and crime or corruption. Independents are next most likely to say crime and corruption (15%).

Just over one in ten Americans (14%) say the country is headed in the right direction, while 65% say the country is headed off on the wrong track. Republicans (4%) and independents (28%) are least likely to be optimistic about the direction of the country, but Democrats are also pessimistic, with just 28% saying the country is headed in the right direction.

Two in five Americans approve of how President Biden is handling the presidency (41%), while 52% disapprove.

Americans continue to want Biden to prioritize the economy and immigration.

When looking a specific issues, Biden’s approval rating is low in most areas. He receives the highest approval ratings for his handling of coronavirus (48%) and the lowest for corruption (24%).

A large majority of Americans are in favor of federal laws that would require a certificate or background check for the sale of long gun / rifle ammunition to individuals (77%). A majority also support removing qualified immunity protections from police officers. Americans are least likely to support reducing spending on Social Security and Medicare.

About the Study

This Ipsos poll was conducted February 3-5, 2023, by Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,029 general population adults age 18 or older.

The margin of sampling error for this study is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.13. The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on other sub-samples. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.

The survey was conducted using KnowledgePanel®, the largest and most well-established online probability-based panel that is representative of the adult U.S. population. Our recruitment process employs a scientifically developed addressed-based sampling methodology using the latest Delivery Sequence File of the USPS – a database with full coverage of all delivery points in the US. Households invited to join the panel are randomly selected from all available households in the U.S. Persons in the sampled households are invited to join and participate in the panel. Those selected who do not already have internet access are provided a tablet and internet connection at no cost to the panel member. Those who join the panel and who are selected to participate in a survey are sent a unique password-protected log-in used to complete surveys online. As a result of our recruitment and sampling methodologies, samples from KnowledgePanel® cover all households regardless of their phone or internet status and findings can be reported with a margin of sampling error and projected to the general population.

The data for the total sample were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race/ethnicity, education, Census region, metropolitan status, and household income, and political party identification. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2022 Current Population Survey (CPS) and the political party identification benchmark came from high quality probability polls.

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]

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