President Joe Biden's approval rating has fallen to a four-month low, even as inflation's bite begins to ease, with gas prices down 35% from their June peak, the December IBD/TIPP Poll finds.
Biden's job approval rating slipped nine-tenths of a point to 44.6 in the new IBD/TIPP Poll. The IBD/TIPP presidential job approval figure indicates that 44.6% of adults who stated an opinion approve of Biden's job performance and 55.4% disapprove, in a measure that excludes those who were unsure or declined to say.
Including the full survey group, 40% of American adults approve of how Biden is handling the presidency, and 49% disapprove. Biden's net -9 approval rating follows two months at -8, with 41% approval and 49% disapproval.
Biden's approval rating continues to fade after a late-summer rally, sparked by a flurry of economic legislation, student loan forgiveness, declining gas prices and an uproar over the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade. September's IBD/TIPP Poll showed a -2 rating, with 46% approval and 48% disapproval, rebounding from August's -14 net job approval, the lowest of Biden's presidency, with 39% approval and 53% disapproval.
Biden Approval Rating Details
The slippage in Biden's approval rating came even as his standing among independents saw further improvement from dire levels. Net disapproval of Biden narrowed to 25 points among independents from 27 points in November and 29 points in October. Now, 55% of independents pan Biden's job performance and 30% approve. That compares with 55%-28% last month and 56%-27% in October.
November Jobs Report: Wage Growth Jumps Amid Strong Hiring
Yet Biden's summer bounce among members of his own party continued to deflate. Democrats now approve of his job performance by a 71%-20% margin, down from 75%-17% last month and 77%-16% in October, but still better than August's 70%-19% split.
Republican disapproval of Biden widened to 84%-9% from 84%-11% in November.
Support from younger adults, which provided a life raft for Biden's job approval rating in September, has lost its buoyancy. Adults 18-44 now disapprove of Biden's handling of the presidency by a 43%-40% margin. Biden's net disapproval of 3 points among younger Americans was a sharp turnaround from +6-point net approval in November, when 47% of younger adults backed Biden's job performance and 41% disapproved.
Biden's approval rating among younger adults surged to 51%-40% in September from 40%-51% in August, when his student loan forgiveness turned their frowns upside down. However, the promise of up to $20,000 in forgiven loans now looks to be on shaky ground. The Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of Biden's giveaway early in 2023 after the program was put on ice amid a legal challenge from GOP-led states,
While Biden continues to have a big problem with older Americans, their disapproval narrowed to 54%-39% from 56%-36% in November and 58%-36% in October.
Approval Of President Biden's Policies
Net disapproval specifically of Biden's economic policies held steady at 22 points in the new IBD/TIPP Poll. Now adults disapprove of Biden's economic policies 51%-29%, little changed from 50%-28% last month.
All signs point to inflation as a major source of Biden's poor reviews. U.S. employers added 10. 5 million jobs in the first 22 months of Biden's presidency, including 263,000 last month, Labor Department data shows. Meanwhile, the average hourly wage has grown a strong 5.1% rise over the past year. Yet inflation has eaten away all of that increase and more for many Americans.
The IBD/TIPP Poll finds that just 22% of adults say their wages have kept pace with inflation, while 51% say they haven't kept pace. Meanwhile, 87% of Americans are concerned about the path of inflation over the next 12 months.
Investors Back Biden
Biden's approval rating among investors narrowed to 50%-43% from 53%-43% last month and 54%-44% in October. IBD/TIPP counts as investors those respondents who say they have at least $10,000 in household-owned mutual funds or equities.
While stocks have had a rough ride this year amid aggressive Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes, market action has improved lately as inflation has eased from its peak.
Through Friday, the Dow Jones was down 9% from its record closing high on Jan. 4. The S&P 500 has fallen 18.3% from its January peak, while the Nasdaq composite is 32.1% off its November 2021 high. Since Election Day on Nov. 3, 2020, the Dow is up 21.8% and the S&P 500 16.8%, but the Nasdaq has lost 1.4%.
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 big problem is among noninvestors, who now disapprove of Biden's job performance by a 53%-36% margin. Biden's net 17-point disapproval among this group narrowed from 20 points the prior two months. Noninvestors disapproved of Biden 54%-34% in November and 53%-33% in October.
The December IBD/TIPP Poll reflects online surveys of 1,351 adults from Dec. 7-9. The results come with a credibility interval of +/- 2.8 points.
Please follow Jed Graham on Twitter @IBD_JGraham for coverage of economic policy and financial markets.
