- AP/NORC poll shows strong support for President Joe Biden on his COVID-19 response but lower approval for his handling of the economy
- A majority of respondents consider the economy to be in poor shape, with mixed opinions on where it will head in the next year
- Poll reflects a partisan divide as Democratic and Republican perceptions traded places after the 2020 presidential election
Summary by Dirk Langeveld
President Joe Biden has won high marks for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic response in a recent poll, but had weaker support on his economic approach as many respondents remained anxious about the future.
A survey of 1,434 adults by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that Biden had an overall approval of 60 percent. Seventy percent of respondents approved of Biden’s pandemic response, including 44 percent of Republican respondents. Biden also won broad Democratic support as well as the approval of a majority of Independent respondents on race relations and health care issues.
Conversely, just 55 percent of respondents approved of Biden’s handling of the economy. This share included 88 percent of Democrats and 56 percent of Independents, but just 17 percent of Republicans.
The result reflected broader pessimism or anxiety about economic conditions, with 63 percent considering the economy to be in poor shape. Just 44 percent said they expect the economy to improve over the next year, while 32 percent think it will worsen and 23 percent think it will remain about the same.
The pandemic has stressed the nation’s businesses for the past year, and weekly jobless claims remain elevated as layoffs continue. At the same time, there are signs of recovery as COVID-19 vaccines are distributed and states begin to ease their restrictions. The most recent jobs report showed significant gains as the leisure and hospitality sector, one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, had the strongest job growth.
Biden has emphasized that controlling the pandemic is his first priority, saying this step is necessary before economic recovery can begin in earnest. However, he has also backed a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus effort that takes steps such as aiding individual households, boosting unemployment benefits, and shoring up funding for state and local governments. The American Rescue Plan was narrowly approved by the Senate on Saturday and will be returned to the House for a final vote.
The poll also reflected an obvious partisan divide, with Democratic and Republican optimism trading places compared to a September 2020 survey after the results of last year’s presidential election.
