Poll Shows Biden Unpopular among Voters as Immigration, Inflation Worsen

A sprawling new survey is revealing that voters are getting sick of the Biden administration, and Trump’s popularity is holding strong. According to the latest Harvard CAPS/Harris poll, President Joe Biden’s approval rating is floundering, underwater at 45% (23% strongly approve, 22% somewhat approve), with his disapproval rate (39% strongly disapprove, 15% somewhat disapprove) remaining fairly steady since January of 2022. Nearly half of voters (48%) said that Biden is getting worse as a leader, while 27% (mostly Democrats) said he’s improving and 25% said he’s pretty much the same.

Furthermore, voters are disappointed with Biden’s performance on key issues. The 81-year-old president’s approval rating is low regarding his management of immigration (35%), inflation (39%), the economy (43%), rising crime rates (41%), and others. The only area where voters said Biden has done a good job was in responding to COVID-19. When asked what Biden’s biggest achievement has been as president, more voters (30%) said he hasn’t had a big achievement than voters (28%) who agreed that lowering the cost of prescription drugs is the biggest feather in Biden’s cap.

The Biden administration’s biggest failure is, according to voters, its border policy. Forty-four percent of voters (including about a third of Democrats and nearly half of Independents) believe Biden’s biggest failure was overseeing “an open borders policy and a historic flood of immigrants.” Runners-up for the title of “biggest failure” include weak leadership, “rampant inflation,” “a shameful withdrawal from Afghanistan,” and a failure to tackle surging crime rates.

Immigration, inflation, and the economy are the top issues that voters are concerned about heading into the next presidential election. Thirty-six percent of voters expressed concern over immigration, 33% over inflation and price increases, and 24% over the economy and jobs. Inflation was rated the most important issue to voters personally with 42% of voters responding that they have been personally impacted by rising prices, up four percentage points just since January. Immigration and crime were next, at 18% and 11% respectively. Additionally, 54% of voters said their personal financial situations were suffering under Biden and upwards of 70% said they fear that inflation is “here to stay.”

On immigration, 63% of voters said that the border crisis is worsening (including 42% of Democrats and 65% of Independents) and a staggering 71% said that the U.S. needs tougher laws against illegal immigration (including 56% of Democrats and 76% of Independents). A majority of voters also believe the federal government already has the power and authority it needs to fix the illegal immigration crisis and that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is simply not enforcing existing border control laws. Sixty-two percent of voters (including nearly half of Democrats) support impeaching Mayorkas “under the charge that he is willfully not enforcing immigration laws and securing the border…”

Also according to the survey, Biden would lose against former President Donald Trump if the election were held today. Forty-eight percent of voters said that they would pick Trump over Biden, with 9% saying they weren’t sure. When that 9% were asked which way they lean, Trump would beat Biden 53% to 47%. Significantly, Trump would earn 52% of the Independent vote and even 13% of the Democratic vote.

When third-party players are introduced, Trump still comes out on top, with former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. taking a substantial portion of the vote (nearly 10%) that would otherwise go to Biden. Trump also garnered nearly 80% support among GOP voters for the Republican presidential nomination, with former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley earning a paltry 14%. Biden would also beat Haley (41% to 39%, 19% undecided) if the two were to go head-to-head.

Even if Trump were to be convicted of the numerous indictments leveled against him by leftist prosecutors and Biden’s Justice Department, voters would still likely go for him over Biden. A whopping 54% of voters said they’d vote for Trump even if he were convicted of inciting the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Only 46% said they’d back Biden, which is actually down from 52% just a month ago. Fifty-two percent of voters said they would still vote for Trump if he were convicted of election interference charges in Georgia, but voters were split on whether to vote for him if convicted of allegedly mishandling classified presidential documents, with 50% backing Trump and 50% backing Biden.

A clear majority of voters (58%) also believe that the prosecutions against Trump are politically motivated. Even a surprising 42% of Democrats said they think that the Biden administration is “using the legal system in biased ways to take out a political opponent.” Voters were split when asked if Trump poses a “threat to democracy,” with 50% saying he doesn’t and 50% saying he does, which is down from 52% a month ago.

When asked if Trump will impact the nation “for the better,” 56% of respondents said yes, while 44% said he’s “a danger to democracy and will hopelessly divide the country if elected.” Nearly 60% of respondents also agreed with the statement, “I miss Donald Trump’s policies on the economy, immigration and crime,” and 62% agreed that Democrats “are trying to unfairly scare the voters over Donald Trump by labeling him as a dictator.”

When asked, nearly 60% of respondents said that they think Trump did a good job as president — that includes a majority in every age range polled, a majority among urban, suburban, and rural voters, 53% of independents, and even 29% of Democrats. Trump was also rated among the political figures with the highest net favorability, while Biden, his son Hunter, and other Democrats like Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), California Governor Gavin Newsom (D), and others received some of the lowest scores.

This comes as numerous other polls show Trump leading Biden in November and concern over illegal immigration skyrocketing.