The Grind:
U.S. President Joe Biden’s public approval rating was close to the lowest level of his presidency this week amid criticism from Republicans over classified documents found in his home in recent months, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The three-day national poll, which closed on Sunday, showed 40% of Americans approved of Biden’s performance as president, versus 39% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll a month earlier.
The Details:
Biden began 2023 buoyed by unexpectedly strong midterm election results for Democrats. U.S. inflation was also falling and the Republican Party appeared in disarray after taking days to elect a speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
But the latest poll numbers suggest those factors may not have significantly changed the public view of the president as he prepares for an expected re-election bid in 2024.
Biden, 80, is expected to launch another run for the White House, perhaps as soon as next month, after the State of the Union address on Feb. 7, sources have told Reuters.
Republicans in Congress in recent days have slammed the president after the White House said this month that Biden’s lawyers found classified documents at his home in Wilmington, Delaware at the start of November – ahead of the midterms. Read more…