How does Biden’s approval rating at 100 days compare to past presidents?
On the cusp of President Joe Biden’s 100th day in office, several polls have measured his popularity based on approval rating.
Biden’s average approval rating stands at 54% — higher than former President Donald Trump’s 42% approval rating at his 100th day in office, according to FiveThirtyEight’s tracker.
Biden scored slightly higher on Gallup’s rating at his 100th day, with a 57% rating, which exceeds Trump’s 41% 100-day rating but falls below Barack Obama’s 65% rating and George W. Bush’s 62% score. Biden’s rating is similar to George H.W. Bush’s 58% and Bill Clinton’s 55% on their 100th days in office.
A CNN poll found 53% of respondents approve of the way Biden is handling the presidency and 59% said he is doing a “good job” of keeping his campaign promises. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points and surveyed 1,004 adults from April 21-26.
Biden also earned approval for how he’s handled the coronavirus pandemic. Sixty-six percent approved in the CNN survey, with 97% of Democrats approving, 65% of independents and 30% approval from Republicans.
Unlike previous presidents, Biden hasn’t enjoyed a “honeymoon” period in his first months of presidency, in which prior leaders have typically received higher performance evaluations, according to FiveThirtyEight.
“This is, in large part, thanks to how polarized our politics are,” according to the FiveThirtyEight analysts. “The honeymoon period has diminished given just how hard it is for presidents to attract support from outside their party base.”
Other polls have also shown partisan views toward Biden’s job as president.
Biden received the approval of 85% of Democrats for his first 100 days in office, according to a Politico/Morning Consult survey conducted April 24-26. The poll has a sample size of 1,991 registered voters and a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points.
Meanwhile, 44% of surveyed independents gave Biden an “A” or “B” grade compared to the32% of independents who gave the same marks to Trump during his first 100 days in office. Trump received support from 72% of Republicans.
Biden has an overall approval rate of 60% in the Politico survey compared to Trump’s 48% rating before his 100th day in office.
Trump and Biden both got the same approval from their opposite parties: 14% of Republicans gave Biden an “A” or “B” grade, the same approval Trump received from Democrats in 2017.
This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 11:36 AM with the headline "How does Biden’s approval rating at 100 days compare to past presidents?."