Parting shot
The outgoing Biden Administration’s authorisation for Ukraine to carry out long-range missile strikes against Russian targets using US weaponry signals a significant escalation in the on-going conflict.
A new poll has revealed that an average of 41.3 per cent of US adults approve of the job Joe Biden was doing as President, during his fifth quarter in office.
The latest Gallup poll released on Friday said the number was essentially unchanged from the 41.7 per cent in his fourth quarter, but was significantly lower than his first three quarterly averages, reports Xinhua news agency.
Biden enjoyed majority approval ratings during his first two quarters in office.
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His job approval ratings in eight Gallup polls conducted since September 2021 have ranged narrowly between 40 per cent and 43 per cent.
Last year’s surge in new Covid-19 cases, the troubled US withdrawal from Afghanistan, and rapidly increasing gas prices and inflation, have led to a decline in the veteran Democrat’s public support, Gallup wrote in an analysis of the numbers.
From a historical perspective, Biden’s fifth quarter average is lower than that of any prior elected President, except his immediate predecessor, Donald Trump.
Trump averaged 39.1 per cent during his fifth quarter.
Gallup said Biden’s low job approval rating stands as a significant threat to the Democratic Party’s chances of maintaining its slim majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate.
Typically, unpopular Presidents’ parties have lost seats in midterm elections, with the number of seats lost usually much higher for Presidents with job approval ratings below 50 per cent.
“As things stand, given the strong link between presidential job approval ratings and how the president’s party performs in midterm elections, Biden appears likely to be governing with Republican majorities in one or both houses of Congress next year unless his rating dramatically improves,” the Gallup analysis added.
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