According to a new Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday, 55% of Americans believe the Biden administration is “not competent at running the government.” Only 42% of respondents approved of the administration’s efforts.
Biden’s approval rating has likewise dropped to 38%, with 53% of those polled disapproving of his performance. That’s a 4-point decline from a September Quinnipiac poll, which put Biden’s approval rating at 42 percent. Biden’s approval rating stayed between 45 and 50 percent from February through August.
Unsurprisingly, the latest results reveal a large partisan gap. Only 13% of Democrats agreed with the 94% of Republicans and 62% of independents who believed the Biden administration was inept.
At the same time, voters are evenly divided over whether Biden “cares about average Americans,” with 49% saying he does and 48% saying he doesn’t.
Meanwhile, only 28% of respondents indicated they were very or somewhat satisfied with the country’s course, and 56% believe Biden lacks effective leadership skills.
“Battered on trust, doubted on leadership, and challenged on overall competency, President Biden is being hammered on all sides as his approval rating continues its downward slide to a number not seen since the tough scrutiny of the Trump administration,” Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy said.
When it comes to Afghanistan, 28% of Americans believe the US did the right thing by withdrawing all soldiers, while 50% believed the US should have removed some but not all troops. And 15% of those polled believe the US should not have withdrawn any soldiers at all.
Based on the administration’s response to COVID-19, 48% of Americans approve of Biden’s job performance, while 52% disapprove.
The poll, conducted from October 1 to 4, featured 1,326 adults from throughout the country and had a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points.
Businessinsider’s Bryan Metzger contributed to this report.