Biden approval at 42 percent in NPR/Marist poll

President Biden’s approval rating hit a new low in an NPR/Marist poll released Wednesday.  

Just 42 percent of the survey’s participants approve of the job that Biden is doing in office, the lowest rating Biden has received in this particular poll since he was inaugurated in January.  

The newest polling numbers come as the Biden administration attempts to solve the problem of rising prices. A report released earlier this month by the Labor Department showed that inflation had reached a 30-year high, rising 6.2 percent in the 12-month period ending in October. 

Biden and Democrats have been hit by critics and Republicans over rising food and gas prices, particularly as the holidays approach. The U.S. economy has been slammed with consumer demand that businesses have not been able to meet. 

The administration has sought to alleviate the surge in gas prices by releasing 50 million barrels of oil from the national reserve, though energy experts says it’s unclear how the move will immediately affect prices at the pump. 

In the poll, voters’ top economic issues were inflation at 39 percent, wages at 18 percent, labor shortages at 11 percent and gas prices and unemployment at 9 percent.

Fifty-two percent of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy and 42 percent approve. In April, he had a 54 percent approval rating for the economy. 

In a Quinnipiac University poll last week, Biden’s approval rating was at a low of 36 percent. 

The continuing downward slope for Biden’s approval rating comes just a year before midterm elections, where Democrats will try to keep its hold over both chambers of Congress. Currently the party holds slim majorities in both the House and the Senate. 

Biden had a legislative win with the bipartisan infrastructure deal, but the rise in inflation and coronavirus cases is proving to be a struggle for the president.

The poll surveyed 1,048 adults from Nov. 16 to Nov. 19. The margin of error is 4.2 percentage points.