Most Voters Give Biden ‘Poor’ Rating on Economy, National Security

President Joe Biden is doing a poor job on both national security and economic issues, according to a majority of voters.

A new national telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports finds that only 34% of Likely U.S. voters rate Biden excellent or good for his handling of national security issues. That’s down from 38% in August, in the midst of the Afghanistan withdrawal crisis. Fifty percent (50%) give Biden a poor rating for his handling of national security, up from 48% in August. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Voters rate Biden even worse on the economy, with just 32% rating him excellent or good for his handling of economic issues, while 55% give him a poor rating. That continues the president’s declining approval from October, when 51% of voters rated him poor on economic issues.

With Biden’s overall job approval ratings now stuck in the low 40s, the decline has impacted his approval on other specific issues, including crime and immigration.

In fact, Biden’s economic and national security ratings are worse than the lowest ratings of either of his two immediate predecessors. Former President Donald Trump’s lowest ratings for his handling of both the economy (44% poor) and national security (47% poor) were in July 2017.  Former President Barack Obama’s worst rating on the economy was 51% poor in August 2011 while Obama’s lowest rating on national security was 47% poor in January 2016.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it’s in the news, it’s in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on December 29-30, 2021 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Most voters rate Biden similarly on both economic and national security issues. Among voters who give Biden an excellent rating on the economy, for example, 76% also rate him excellent on national security issues, while among those who rate Biden poor on the economy, 88% also give him a poor rating on national security.

The general correlation of opinions about Biden’s competence can also be seen in the fact that, for example, among voters who Strongly Approve of his job performance as president, 96% rate Biden good or excellent on his handling of national security and 95% rate him good or excellent on economic issues. Conversely, among voters who Strongly Disapprove of Biden’s job performance, 93% rate him poor on national security and 97% rate him poor on economic issues.

While party loyalty explains much of the division of opinion about how Biden is handling issues, he has lost ground even among Democratic voters. On national security issues, for example, 63% of Democrats rate Biden excellent or good, down from 68% in August, while on economic issues, the share of Democrats rating the president handling as excellent or good declined to 57% from 62% in October.

Majorities of both Republicans (74%) and voters not affiliated with either major party (58%) give Biden a poor rating for his handling of national security issues. Similarly, 80% of Republicans and 63% of unaffiliated voters rate Biden poor for his handling of economic issues.

Men are slightly more likely than women to rate Biden poor on his handling of both national security and economic issues.

Black voters give Biden much higher ratings on both national security and the economy than do whites or other minorities.

Voters under 40 are less likely than older voters to give Biden poor ratings on economic and national security issues.

Biden gets higher ratings from voters with annual incomes of $100,000 or more, and from college graduates.

Fewer voters now trust the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and many believe the agency is acting as President Biden’s “personal Gestapo.”

This week marks the one-year anniversary of the January 6 Capitol riot.  Half of voters believe the riot by some supporters of former President Donald Trump was a threat to democracy, and most Democrats believe it was a conspiracy involving GOP officials.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free) or follow us on Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.