Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s approval rating dropped to 40% this week. This is a strong warning sign that his Democratic Party will struggle to maintain control over Congress after the November 8th election.

According to a national poll conducted between March 21 and 22, 54% Americans disapprove his job performance. This is despite high inflation in the United States and Russia’s invasion Ukraine.

Biden’s approval score, which is down 3 percentage points over the week before, mirrors his Republican predecessor Donald Trump’s at this point in his presidency. They both had a combined 40% at mid-March of their second years in office.

Trump’s approval rating dropped to as low 33% as December 2017.

Respondents to the poll ranked their number one concern as being the economy, closely followed by foreign wars and conflicts.

Biden’s popularity started to decline in August as more COVID-19 victims died and the U.S. faced an unplanned withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Biden has attempted to cool the political climate after Trump’s divisive presidency.

His presidency has polarized Americans. 77% self-identified Democrats praised his work performance. But only 10% and 27%, respectively, of Republicans rated him positively.

Democrats have slim majorities in both the House of Representatives (House) and Senate. Biden may have to stop his legislative agenda if either loses.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey is available online and in English across the United States. This latest poll collected responses from 1,005 adults. It included 432 Democrats as well as 366 Republicans. It is 4 percentage point credible interval. This indicates precision.