About four-in-ten Americans (37%) now approve of Joe Biden’s job performance as president, while 60% disapprove. Biden’s approval rating is relatively unchanged from earlier in the summer and remains far lower than it was in the early months of his presidency.
Demographic patterns in Biden’s approval rating also are little different than in recent months, with White adults, those without bachelor’s degrees and younger adults more likely than others to disapprove of Biden.
Majorities across all age groups disapprove of Biden, though his rating is somewhat more positive among adults 65 and older (42%) than among those in younger age groups. At the same time, older adults are more likely than younger adults to express strongly negative views of Biden: While 63% of adults under 30 disapprove of Biden’s performance, just 32% say they strongly disapprove. Among those 65 and older, a smaller overall share disapproves (55%), but 46% strongly disapprove.
Biden’s personal traits viewed less positively than last fall
Public perceptions of Biden’s personal traits have turned more negative over the course of his presidency, largely paralleling the decline in his approval ratings, with some exceptions.
While a majority of Americans (54%) say “stands up for what he believes in” describes Biden very (20%) or fairly (34%) well, public assessments of whether Biden is honest and cares about the needs of ordinary people are more divided. About half (48%) say “honest” describes Biden at least fairly well, while a similar share (50%) say it does not. Similarly, about half (48%) characterize him as caring about the needs of ordinary people, while roughly as many (51%) say this is not a good descriptor.
The public’s evaluation is more negative on other measures: About two-thirds say “inspiring” (68%) does not describe Biden well, while nearly as many (64%) say the same for “mentally sharp.” And although 44% say “a good role model” describes Biden at least fairly well, a larger share (55%) say this does not describe the president well.
While Biden’s ratings on each of these traits have declined substantially over the course of his presidency, the sharpest decline is seen in views of Biden’s mental sharpness – and this shift is particularly pronounced among Democrats.
Overall, 35% now say “mentally sharp” describes Biden at least fairly well, down from 54% in March 2021 and 43% last September. The share of Democrats saying this describes Biden very or fairly well has dropped to 61% today from 73% last fall and 86% in March 2021. The share of Republicans saying Biden fits this description at least fairly well has also declined over this period, although to a lesser extent, in large part because just 16% said this in March 2021 (today 6% do).
The trajectory of opinion follows a similar, if less stark, pattern for the other traits asked about in the survey.
A majority of Republicans want Trump to stay in politics; about four-in-ten say he should run for president in 2024
Overall, roughly three-in-ten Americans (31%) say Donald Trump should remain a major national political figure, while two-thirds (66%) say he should not. However, there are wide partisan divides on this question. About six-in-ten Republicans and Republican leaners (63%) say the former president should continue to play a major role in national politics, while nearly all Democrats and Democratic leaners (94%) say he should not.
The share of Republicans saying Trump should continue to be a major national political figure has declined slightly since September 2021 (67% then, 63% now).
The 63% of Republicans who would like to see Trump remain a major figure include 39% who would like to see Trump run for president himself in 2024. The remainder (23%) say while they would like Trump to remain a national political figure, they would prefer he use his position to support another presidential candidate that shares his views.
Although Republicans and Republican leaners generally say Trump should remain a major national political figure, there are demographic differences within the GOP on this question.
While half of Republicans with a bachelor’s degree or more education say Trump should remain a major political figure, that rises to 69% among Republicans with less formal education. Republicans with some college education or less are far more likely than those who are college graduates to say Trump should run for president again: 45% say Trump should run for president himself in 2024, while only about a quarter (26%) of Republican college graduates stay this.
Moderate and liberal Republicans are less likely than conservative Republicans to say Trump should remain on the national political stage (52% vs. 69%, respectively).
