President Joe Biden's approval rating dipped from a five-month high in early March, yet his political standing remained near its best level in more than a year, the new IBD/TIPP Poll finds. However, beneath the surface, the polling shows deepening divisions among partisan lines, as well as by age, income and investor status.
The new IBD/TIPP Poll finds that 45% of Americans age 18 and up approve of how Biden is handling the presidency, and 45% disapprove. Biden's flat net-approval followed February's +2-point net approval rating, with 46% approval and 44% disapproval, which was the first net positive rating for Biden since December 2021.
Even with March's dip, Biden's approval rating has been trending higher in recent months. The IBD/TIPP Poll had registered a -2 points net approval rating in January (44%-46%) and -9 in December (40%-49%).
Biden Approval Rating Details
The dip in Biden's approval rating came despite approval among members of his own party rising to 83%-10% vs. 81%-12% in February, 76%-16% in January and 71%-20% in December.
Yet Biden's dire standing among independents has only gotten worse. Now 60% of independents pan Biden's job performance and just 22% approve, vs. 56%-28% in February and 54%-31% in January. Biden's -38 points net approval rating was the worst of his presidency.
Meanwhile, Republican disapproval of Biden narrowed slightly to 83%-12% from 85%-10% in February.
Biden's approval rating remained underwater among all income groups except those earning above $75,000. For the highest earners, Biden's net approval rating rose to 41 points (68%-27%) from 31 points (62.5%-31.5%) in February and just 7 points (50%-43%) in January.
Meanwhile, Biden's job approval among adults under 45 widened to 54%-33% in March from 48%-38% in February. At the same time, disapproval of Biden among adults 45 and up grew to 55%-37% from 48%-45% in February.
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Approval Of President Biden's Policies
Net disapproval of Biden's economic policies was unchanged at -9 points from -17 in the new IBD/TIPP Poll. Adults disapproved of Biden's economic policies 44%-35% for a second straight month vs. 46%-29% in January.
All signs point to inflation as a major source of Biden's poor economic reviews. U.S. employers added 12.1 million jobs in the first 24 months of Biden's presidency, including 517,000 in January, Labor Department data shows. Meanwhile, the average hourly wage has grown a solid 4.4% over the past year. Yet inflation has eaten away all of that increase and more for many Americans.
The IBD/TIPP Poll finds that 30% of adults say their wages have kept pace with inflation, up from 27% in February and 21% in January. Meanwhile, 44% say wages haven't kept up with inflation, but that was down from 48% in February and 52% the prior month.
The percentage of Americans who say they're concerned about the path of inflation over the next 12 months dipped to a still-overwhelming 88% from 89% the two prior months. That's despite a 33% drop in the average national gas price since a gallon of regular unleaded peaked above $5 in mid-June.
Investors Back Biden
Biden's strong approval among investors narrowed a bit to 62%-34% from 62%-31% in February, but remained far above January's 53%-42% split and December's 50%-43%. IBD/TIPP counts as investors those respondents who say they have at least $10,000 in household-owned mutual funds or equities.
While stocks had a rough ride last year amid aggressive Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes, this year the S&P 500 and especially the Nasdaq have so far weathered concerns that a stronger-than-expected economy will compel the Fed to push rates even higher.
Through Friday, the Dow Jones was down 9.3% from its all-time closing high in January 2022, but up 16.2% from its bear-market closing low on Sept. 30. The S&P 500 has rallied 13.1% from its Oct. 12 closing low, but remains 15.7% below its peak. The Nasdaq composite has climbed 14.4% from its 52-week low on Dec. 28, but is still 27.2% off its November 2021 high.
Since Election Day on Nov. 3, 2020, the Dow is up 21.5%, the S&P 500 20.1%, and the Nasdaq 4.7%.
Be sure to read IBD's The Big Picture column after each trading day to get the latest on the prevailing stock market trend and what it means for your trading decisions.
The president's problem is among non-investors, who now disapprove of Biden's job performance by a wider 52%-33% margin vs. 52%-37% in February and 48%-40% in January.
The March IBD/TIPP Poll reflects online surveys of 1,370 adults from March 1-3. The results come with a credibility interval of +/- 2.8 points.
Presidential Leadership Index
The IBD/TIPP Presidential Leadership Index slipped nine-tenths of a point to 49.1, though it was still Biden's second best result in more than a year. Readings above 50 are net positive, while below-50 readings are negative. The Presidential Leadership Index combines survey readings on how American adults feel about Biden's personal qualities, presidential performance, and leadership attributes. Biden's favorability slipped to 50.5 from 52.2, but remained positive. His job approval eased to 49.7 from 51.5, while the leadership index improved to 47.1 from 46.2.
Please follow Jed Graham on Twitter @IBD_JGraham for coverage of economic policy and financial markets.
