Biden has hit the ground running with a flurry of action most did not anticipate in such swiftness and with such a powerful punch. Biden has issued 40 big Executive Orders so far, with more to come, on everything from Covid-19, Immigration, the Environment, the Economy, Health Care. About half were issued to roll back damaging Executive Order Biden’s predecessor had issued, the other half are meant to move us forward on the pressing issues. Biden is also moving fast on Covid-19 vaccination, speeding up production and delivery, getting vaccinations ramped up. Biden just announced an additional buy of 200 Million vaccine shots to get enough vaccine shots for everybody, and fast.
Biden’s Covid-19 relief bill is moving swiftly through the House and into the Senate, expected to be voted on next week. It is expected to pass, whether Democrats have to go it alone using the budget reconciliation path which requires only 50 votes in the Senate or whether they get 10 Republicans to come along.
All that action has Republicans apoplectic. They bash Biden for his “record” use of Executive Action. They bash Biden’s quick push for big Covid-19 relief. It is all too fast, all too quick. all too Progressive and expensive.
But, what do the American people think about all of this?
The verdict is in.
By and large, the American people are approving of it all. Of Biden. His agenda. Strongly. They like what they are seeing.
Biden is starting off with an approval rating that gives him net positive approval margins from 23% to 27%. That is incredible in a polarized country like ours. Trump never hit 50% approval, and his approval to disapproval margin was usually NEGATIVE 10%, or thereabouts. In the last few weeks of his presidency Trump’s approval fell all the way to 29%, disapproval in the 60s. Biden, by contrast, has approval well above 50% and close to 60%, and his approval to disapproval margin is closing in on a POSITIVE 30%.
Here are the approval polls we have been seeing over the last 5 days, confirming that Biden is doing things right, his breakneck speed to get things done for the American people is exactly what people want to see happening:
1. The Hill/HarrisX:
Biden approval: 63%. Biden disapproval: 37%. Approval margin: Positive margin 26%.
The Hill: Poll: President Biden's first approval rating 63 percent
The Hill-HarrisX poll's first presidential job approval rating for Joe Biden comes in at 63 percent support among registered voters.
Only 37 percent of respondents in the Jan. 21-22 survey said they disapprove of Biden's job in the White House.
Refreshing. 63% of voters approve of how Biden is handling his job, 37% disapprove, for a net positive of 26%. Who would have thought that is possible, even this early, in a country that is almost evenly divided politically? This is the highest approval rating for a President in this country in 12 years.
Positive approval on all issues. 69% approval of Biden’s handling of the Coronavirus pandemic. 69%. 65% on “administering the government”. Pretty much 61% approval on everything else.
Ninety-four percent of Democratic voters approve of Biden's job as president, along with 62 percent of independents.
Seventy percent of Republican voters, however, disapprove of Biden's performance so far.
The survey, taken in the first two full days of his presidency, finds Biden receiving 61 percent support when it comes to the issues of the economy, stimulating jobs and fighting terrorism.
Fifty-seven percent of voters said they approve of Biden's handling of immigration, and 60 percent say the same concerning foreign affairs.
Biden sees his strongest support on the issues of administering the government and handling the coronavirus pandemic, at 65 and 69 percent approval, respectively.
A recent Hill-HarrisX poll found majorities of voters are confident in Biden's ability to achieve key agenda items, particularly those concerning the pandemic.
Here are the Crosstabs.
American voters aren’t just satisfied with Biden’s handling of the Coronavirus crisis so far, they are also quite optimistic about his ability to deal with, and eradicate, Covid-19.
More than seven in 10 voters think the Biden administration will do a good job handling the distribution of the coronavirus vaccines, according to a new poll.
Seventy-three percent of registered voters in the Jan. 21-22 survey said President Biden will do a good job handling vaccine distribution, while only 27 percent of respondents think he will do a bad one.
2. Morning Consult:
Biden approval: 59%. Biden disapproval: 32%. Approval margin: Positive margin: 27%.
Crosstabs: Morning Consult Poll
Joe Biden actually has fostered "unity" -- just not to the elite Beltway media
In a country that is riven with disinformation, populated by dangerous cults embedded within politics and coming off of four years of an authoritarian president who sowed division and even violence, President Joe Biden has satisfied more Americans in a week than even the brightest expectations could imagine.
On issues from climate change and LGBTQ equality to mask mandates and relief for Dreamers, large majorities of Americans support Biden’s executive actions.
“Polls conducted by Morning Consult and Ipsos since Biden’s first day in office have assessed public opinion on 14 policies [that Biden implemented through the executive branch],” FiveThirtyEight reported. “In all cases, more of those polled favor the policies than oppose them, and a majority support nearly every policy.”
Biden is riding a wave of popularity on ALL of the issues he has worked on so far in his presidency.
In a Morning Consult poll Biden tops 59% approval, with 32% disapproval and in a Monmouth University poll he’s at 54% approval and with a very low 30% disapproval.
3. Reuters/Ipsos:
Biden approval: 57%. Biden disapproval: 32%. Approval margin: Positive margin: 25%.
Biden’s approval with registered voters is 57%, disapproval sits at 32%, for a net of 25%.
Biden Sports Strong Opening Approval Numbers
President Joe Biden is off to a blisteringly fast start, making good on many campaign promises in his first days of office. And his efficacy in the Oval Office seems to be doing great things for his opening approval ratings.
Polls taken regarding specific Biden actions seem to be boosting his initial approval ratings. For example, 69 percent approve of Biden's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Ipsos. Former President Trump struggled to contain Covid-19, with nearly 400,000 Americans dying from the virus on his watch.
Reuters Poll Findings PDF
4. Monmouth:
Biden approval: 54%. Biden disapproval: 30%. Approval margin: Positive margin: 24%.
Public Wants GOP to Work With Biden
President Joe Biden begins his term with the backing of a majority of Americans.
...
Biden begins his term with a positive job rating of 54% approve and 30% disapprove. Another 16% have no opinion. The current presidential rating is already higher than it was at any point during Donald Trump’s term in office. Still, opinion of the incumbent is sharply divided along partisan lines – 90% of Democrats, 47% of independents, and just 15% of Republicans approve of Biden.
The American people are now much more optimistic than they have been in years
:
Six in ten (61%) Americans feel optimistic about the policies Biden will pursue as president, while 35% feel pessimistic. The public is somewhat more positive than it was four years ago as Donald Trump was about to take office, when 50% were optimistic and 43% were pessimistic.
There is even residual effect on the popularity of Congress and on the right track/wrong track numbers, helped by Biden’s current strong popularity:
The poll also finds the job rating for Congress at 35% approve and 51% disapprove and opinion of the nation’s trajectory at 42% the right direction and 51% the wrong track. While the net scores on these questions are negative, they actually represent the most positive marks for both since Monmouth began tracking them nationally in 2013. The prior high Congressional rating was 32% approve and 55% disapprove – in April and May last year during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. The prior high point for the path the country is on was 40% right direction and 53% wrong track in June 2018.
Congress’ approval as well as the right track/wrong track numbers are BETTER today than they had been at any time since Monmouth started tracking both metrics in 2013.
The American people want Republicans to work with Biden on solving the issues we are facing, not to be the obstructionists they have been:
Most Americans (71%) would rather see Republicans in Congress find ways to work together with Biden than to focus on keeping Biden in check (25%). The desire for bipartisan cooperation is higher than it was just after the November election (62%), and includes 41% of Republicans (up from 28% in November) as well as 70% of independents (68%) and 94% of Democrats (92%). The poll finds that 6 in 10 Americans have at least some confidence that Biden will be able to get Washington to be more cooperative, although just 21% are very confident while 39% are somewhat confident. Still, this is slightly better than in November (13% very and 38% somewhat confident).
Crosstabs
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Conclusion:
Biden’s approval numbers are strong and they have been steadily growing since Inauguration day based on what the American people have been seeing from him. The key metric here is the strong approval Biden is receiving on his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, as on that issue both HarrisX and Ipsos and also the latest ABC News poll are showing Biden with a 69% approval rating:
ABC News Poll: 69 Percent Approve of Biden on COVID
HarrisX poll: 69% approval rating for Biden on Covid-19 handling
Poll: 73 percent say Biden administration will do a good job handling coronavirus vaccine distribution
The quick action with a record number of Executive Orders issued, rolling back Trump’s damaging and often cruel EOs and adding a lot more Executive Orders on top of the reversals of Trump’s to deal with the major issues we must address, no time to waste, has been proving popular with the American people.
For me, personally, I am very encouraged as Biden is getting a lot done without compromising Democratic values in the name of bipartisanship and “unity”. Biden has done quite the opposite, actually. He has been strongly Progressive in the early going of his presidency, and I am loving it.
His Executive Orders have been strongly Progressive, not just rolling back Trump’s orders but then going in the other direction in a major way. His Covid-19 plan is Progressive, with the largest direct payment to individuals yet and adding, unapologetically, a federal $15 minimum wage. His Environmental plans and Executive orders are so Progressive that even AOC is full of praise:
And yet, with the flurry of strongly Progressive activity, the daily announcement of more action moving the country strongly left ward, and in the face of intense Republican criticism from right-wing pundits and GOP politicians, Biden’s popularity and approval are soaring. Biden is doing exactly the right thing here. Republicans aren’t liking it much, they are shell shocked and they are trying to make everything Biden has done and does look bad, too partisan, with not enough “unity”, not enough panic about the deficit and debt.
But the American people won’t have any of it. They REALLY like what they are seeing from Joe Biden so far.
If this keeps up we could be looking at a very good 2022 midterms.