President Joe Biden speaks at the University of Wisconsin-Superior on Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Derek Montgomery | MPR News.
by CRAIG HELMSTETTER and ALYSON CLARY | June 7, 2022
DOCUMENTATION
DETAILED REPORT
SURVEY TRANSPARENCY DISCLOSURE & METHODS
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The McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State’s most recent Mood of the Nation Poll, conducted May 11-19, 2022, finds that well over half the American public disapproves of the job that Joe Biden is doing as president, with 45% disapproving strongly. Perhaps more importantly, the survey provides a window into what Americans feel the president could do to improve his job performance.
Job approval ratings
The poll’s findings — 42% approving and 58% disapproving of President Biden’s job performance — are statistically tied with the Mood of the Nation Poll conducted five months earlier (45% approving, 55% disapproving, including 43% strongly disapproving).
The presidential approval rating in this most recent Mood of the Nation Poll is very similar to those reflected in other recent national polls. For example, FiveThirtyEight’s aggregation of national polls shows that on the midpoint of this survey, May 15, 41% approve of President Biden, while 53% disapprove.
A majority of several groups of Americans disapprove of President Biden’s job performance. Most notable are the groups where a majority “strongly disapprove” including:
Those whose highest level of educational attainment is high school diploma or less (51%),
Those with annual family incomes ranging from $60,000 to $99,999 (51%)
Men (52%),
Baby boomers (54%),
Political independents (56%),
Non-Hispanic White Americans (57%),
Those in the Silent Generation (60%), and
Republicans (87%).
Note that while Millennials have the lowest “strongly disapprove” rate (34%) among the generations, over one-quarter “disapprove somewhat,” leaving an overall approval rating of only 39% for President Biden from that group.
Groups with a majority approving of President Biden’s job performance include:
Those with a bachelor’s degree or more education (52%),
Those with annual family incomes of $100,000 or more (53%),
Hispanic or Latino Americans (55%),
Non-Hispanic Black Americans (66%), and
Democrats (81%).
In their own words: Reasons for assessments of President Biden’s job performance
To better understand why some Americans strongly approve of the job Joe Biden is doing as president, as well as why others are less enthusiastic about the president’s performance, survey respondents were asked one of two open-ended questions:
For those who indicated that they strongly approve: “What is President Biden doing especially well that makes you approve strongly?”
For all others: “Realistically, what would President Biden have to do in order to increase your approval of his performance as President?”
Respondents entered their own narrative responses, which we then analyzed for themes.
Explanations given for strongly approving
A majority of those who strongly approve of President Biden pointed to his efforts and character, with frequent use of phrases like “he is trying” and “he cares,” as well as words such as “good,” “honest” and “experience.” For example:
“His empathy with people who are struggling; his respect for the common man; his sincerity and depth of character and his genuine care about us.” – 78-year-old White woman from New Mexico, Democrat.
“He’s empathetic.” – 56-year-old Black woman from New York, Democrat.
Over one-third of those who strongly approve of Biden’s job performance mention specific actions or policies that he has taken as president. The war in Ukraine was the most commonly mentioned item in this category, followed by the pandemic and the economy, including job creation. Examples include:
“Handling the Russian invasion in Ukraine.” – 44-year-old Black woman from Pennsylvania, Democrat.
“Stopping the spread of COVID-19” – 30-year-old Hispanic man from Texas, Democrat.
Thirty percent of those strongly approving of the President’s job performance mentioned the historical context that Biden is confronting, most typically noting that “he is not Trump.” A specific example of this sort of comment:
“He is doing what he can to fix the crap that landed in his lap from the former president.” – 65-year-old White woman from Minnesota, Democrat.
One in six of those who strongly approve of Biden’s performance as president indicated that they like everything about what he is doing. Several people responded with words like, “everything” and “all.”
Recommendations for improvement
Many respondents signaled that Biden’s presidency could be improved by rating his job performance anywhere from approve somewhat to strongly disapprove. When asked what Biden could do to improve their assessment reasons varied; twelve different substantive themes emerged from respondents’ open-ended recommendations.
Overall, the most common response was that President Biden’s job performance would improve if he embraced different policies. Respondents recommended a variety of policy changes, but the most common had to do with drilling for oil, strengthening the border, improving health care, protecting the rights of Americans and decreasing taxes. Some examples include:
“Subsidize more housing, get more racists off the streets, get the border problem taken care of along with the children and their parents, somehow get the inflation go down.” – 67-year-old White woman from Oregon, Democrat who approves somewhat of President Biden.
“Expand the Supreme Court and protect a woman's right to choose.” – 39-year-old Black woman from New York, Democrat who disapproves somewhat of President Biden.
“Reinstate all of President Trump's policies regarding national security and sovereignty, open up our fossil fuel energy, secure the southern border, stop the illegal alien invasion, send jets to Ukraine and stop the attack on our military” – 76-year-old White female from Delaware, Republican who strongly disapproves of President Biden.
The second most common recommendation for President Biden is to improve the economy, with inflation or high prices being top of mind for most economic concerns.
“Figure out how to curb the rise in prices. Punish the oil companies for gouging.” – 61-year-old White woman from Florida, Democrat who approves somewhat of President Biden.
“The economy would have to be a lot better, and taxes would have to decrease.” – 21-year-old White male from Massachusetts, Independent who disapproves somewhat of President Biden.
“Change his opinion on abortion. Open the pipeline back up. Get the nation back in order. Change the inflation. Help with gas prices.” – 48-year-old woman, other race, from Virginia, Republican who strongly disapproves of President Biden.
The third most common recommendation was for President Biden to leave office. Note that this did not register as a recommendation among those who approve somewhat of President Biden’s job performance, and barely registered among those who disapprove somewhat. It was, however, explicitly mentioned by over one-third of those who strongly disapprove of the President’s job performance, some of whom wished harm on Biden, and others who (erroneously) indicated that they think Biden stole the election. Examples of the “leave office”-themed comments include:
“Resign and admit he stole the 2020 election.” – 51-year-old White man from Indiana, Republican who strongly disapproves of President Biden.
“Get rid of Harris. Choose Rand Paul as his new Vice President, and then resign.” – 36-year-old man, other race, from Idaho. Republican who strongly disapproves of President Biden.
Beyond the three top themes, other opinions included strengthening his stance. Most of those answers came from respondents who somewhat approve of the President encouraged him to be more assertive and especially more progressive. On the other hand, many of those who disapprove want Biden to be stronger, believing that he is a puppet for others, out of touch or that he needs to “be a man.”
Other, less frequent themes to emerge included explicitly mentioning that former President Trump should be reinstated, that Biden should take more responsibility (including some who recommended holding former President Trump accountable for crimes), opinions relating to Biden’s age, recommendations to forgive student debt, pleas for Biden to work better with Congress, blanket statements that Biden should change everything and some recommendations related to improving the way the President communicates.
About one-third of all respondents opted out of making specific recommendations by either stating that they were not sure what the President could do to improve his job performance, or by indicating there is nothing he could do.
PARTNER FOR THIS SURVEY
The McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State promotes scholarship and practical innovations that defend and advance democracy in the United States and abroad. Through teaching, research and public outreach, the Institute leverages the resources of Penn State and partners around the world to foster a model of deliberation, policymaking, and responsiveness that is passionate, informed and civil.
The Institute’s Mood of the Nation poll offers a unique approach to public opinion polling. It allows Americans to speak in their own words through open-ended questions that focus on emotions like anger and hope, as well as commitment to constitutional principles.