Biden sees record approval among college-age Americans in Harvard poll

More than 6 in 10 college-age Americans approve of President Biden’s job as president thus far, according to a new youth poll from the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, representing the highest figure for any president in the history of the survey.

Overall, 59 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds approve of Biden’s job as president, with 65 percent approving of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and 57 percent of his handling of race relations specifically, according to the poll released on Friday.

Sixty-three percent of college-aged adults surveyed approve of Biden’s job in the White House, higher than any figure recorded in the 21-year history of the poll. President George W. Bush saw his highest approval of 61 percent in 2003, and President Obama hit his highest mark of 57 percent in 2016. President Trump experienced his highest rating of 33 percent among the group in 2019.

Biden receives particularly high marks among young Black and Hispanic Americans, 77 percent and 70 percent of whom approve of his job as president, respectively.

The poll shows that Biden, who at 78 is the oldest person to take office, maintains strong support among young voters that were critical to his victory over Trump in the 2020 election.

Biden has also received similar positive approval ratings among Americans adults of all ages for his job approval and handling of the coronavirus.  

This week, Biden marked the delivery of 200 doses of coronavirus vaccine during his time in office. The Biden administration is racing to distribute vaccines as quickly as possible as COVID-19 cases and the threat of dangerous variants increase.

The new youth survey also reflects an increased interest in politics among young voters. The survey found that 36 percent of young Americans describe themselves as politically active, a considerable increase over the 24 percent who said so in the poll conducted after Obama won election in 2008. The survey found that young Back Americans are the most politically engaged, with 41 percent identifying themselves as politically active.

Young Americans are also more progressive, embracing government intervention to address issues like poverty, healthcare and climate change.

The Harvard survey was conducted from March 9 to 22 and polled 2,513 Americans aged 18 to 29, with a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points.