President Biden told reporters on Wednesday that he doesn’t believe the public opinion polls indicating his waning approval rating among moderates and independents.
Asked by McClatchy White House correspondent Francesca Chambers how he plans to win back moderates and independents who voted for him in 2020 but, according to polls, are now unhappy with his job performance, Biden responded “I don’t believe the polls.”
Biden’s approval rating among independents has decreased since he took office in January 2021, falling from 61 percent when he entered office to 33 percent earlier this month, according to Gallup.
The drop may be due to the host of difficulties Biden has faced during his first year in office, including rising COVID-19 cases, elevated inflation and the military’s messy withdrawal from Afghanistan this summer.
He ended his first year with an average approval rating of 48.9 percent, according to Gallup, which was less than many other presidents but higher than his immediate predecessor, former President Trump.
Biden’s polling comment was made during his marathon press conference Wednesday afternoon, in which the president fielded questions for roughly two hours on a variety of topics including Russia, the coronavirus pandemic and inflation.
The president also opined on polling in response to a question from ABC News’ Mary Bruce, who asked if he needs to be “more realistic and scale down” his social spending package and voting rights legislation amid GOP opposition to both priorities.
He defended his efforts on both fronts, arguing that the majority of Americans are behind him on both issues.
“You all really know the politics in this country and your networks and other issues spend a lot of time, which I’m glad you do, polling this data, determining where the, what the American people’s attitudes are, etc.,” Biden said.
“The American people overwhelmingly agree with me on prescription drugs. They overwhelmingly agree with me on the cost of education. They overwhelmingly agree with me on early education. They overwhelming, I can go on to list, on on child care,” he added.