RUTHFULLY YOURS

President Joe Biden’s approval ratings are nose-diving, according to a new poll from The Federalist and Susquehanna Polling & Research.

The poll, which surveyed 800 likely voters nationwide from Nov. 1 through Nov. 9 of 2021, shows Biden’s overall approval rating slipping to just 36 percent, with disapproval at 52 percent. Biden’s approval rating among registered Democrats is just 70 percent, according to the poll, with one in five registered Democrats saying they did not approve of the job Biden is doing as president. Among voters who are registered as independents, only 29 percent said they approved of Biden’s job as president, while 50 percent said they did not approve of Biden.

The poll from The Federalist and Susquehanna also found widespread dissatisfaction with Biden’s economic and immigration policies thus far. On immigration, only 23 percent of voters surveyed approved of Biden’s efforts to stop illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border, while 51 percent said they disapproved of Biden’s policies on immigration.

Similarly, 34 percent of voters said they approved of how Biden has handled economic policies, while 51 percent said they did not approve of the job he has done on the economy. When asked who they thought was most responsible for skyrocketing gas prices, a plurality of voters — 46 percent — said they blamed Biden and congressional Democrats. Only 7 percent blamed Republicans, while 43 percent blamed other economic factors.

The lone bright spot in the poll for the 46th president is his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifty-one percent said they approved of how he has handled the pandemic, while 46 percent said they did not approve of his COVID-19 efforts.

Critical race theory, which teaches that white people are inherently racist, is extremely unpopular nationwide across nearly all major demographics, the poll also found. When asked whether they believed critical race theory should be taught in government K-12 schools, 59 percent of likely voters surveyed said it should not be taught, with just 26 percent of voters saying the controversial curriculum should be taught in government schools. Even a majority of registered Democrats — 51 percent — said critical race theory should not be taught in schools.

Opposition to critical race theory also transcends race, according to the poll. A plurality of black voters polled — 49 percent — said critical race theory should not be taught, with 42 percent saying it should be taught in school. Sixty-one percent of white voters and 56 percent of Hispanic voters said that critical race theory should not be taught in government K-12 schools.

The American public also has very little regard for the trustworthiness of corporate media outlets, the poll found. When asked whether they “trust the corporate news media to tell the truth,” only 14 percent of respondents agreed. Seventy-eight percent of those polled said they believed “the corporate news media misrepresents facts to push a political agenda.” Among registered independent voters, a whopping 85 percent said they thought the news media mispresented facts to push political agendas.

The poll also found widespread pessimism about the future of the American public. Instead of asking whether the nation was on the right or wrong track, the poll asked respondents if they believed America is a nation in permanent decline, or if they believed the country’s best days were still ahead of it. Forty-six percent said they believed America’s best days were ahead of it, while 45 percent said they believed America is now a nation in permanent decline.

You can read the poll toplines here and the full poll crosstabs here.