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Biden Sees Little to No Approval Ratings Bump Following Ukraine Invasion

In a rare defiance of a historical trend, Joe Biden’s approval ratings appear to have hardly improved at all in the aftermath of a new war, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Following the Russian invasion in late February and Biden’s State of the Union address in early March, most polls found that any approval bump he may have received has been either insignificant or nonexistent, according to CNN. An aggregation of multiple polls found that Biden’s average approval rating prior to the invasion and the State of the Union was about 40 percent; now, several weeks later, his approval stands at about 42 percent.

Nevertheless, Biden remains in the red in all approval polls. His average disapproval in the same aggregate is 51 percent, thus making a 9-point deficit. The latest Quinnipiac poll recorded his approval rating at 38 percent, with 51 percent disapproval

Biden’s approval ratings had been consistently declining since August of 2021, following the disastrous American withdrawal from Afghanistan that was universally condemned and widely seen as an example of weakness, poor planning, and reckless disregard for the lives of American troops and Afghan civilians, on top of a devastating defeat for the United States military. Since then, rising inflation and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic have played key roles in keeping his numbers consistently underwater. His approval rating reached a record low of just 33 percent in a Quinnipiac University poll in January.

Throughout modern history, American presidents would often see a much larger increase in their approval ratings following a war. However, Biden’s marginal increase most likely reflects how little the average American cares about the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, with domestic concerns still at the top of voters’ priorities: Further polling has shown that most Americans are still more concerned with inflation and rising gas prices, which have been further exacerbated by the war in Europe.

The national average price of a gallon of gas reached $4.33 on Friday, surpassing the highest price it had previously reached in 2008, which was $4.11.

The cost of gasoline, as well as most energy sources, had already been steadily rising prior to Russia’s invasion, primarily due to the Biden Administration’s decision to shut down all domestic production of oil and other fossil fuels; shortly after taking office, Biden canceled the Keystone XL Pipeline from Canada and ordered a halt to all oil and gas leases on federal land. After initially hesitating following Russia’s invasion, Biden caved to criticism and announced a ban on all Russian imports of oil; however, his efforts to make up for the energy deficit by increasing purchases from other oil-rich nations, such as Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, have failed due to leaders from such countries outright ignoring his requests.

 

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About Eric Lendrum

Eric Lendrum graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was the Secretary of the College Republicans and the founding chairman of the school’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter. He has interned for Young America’s Foundation, the Heritage Foundation, and the White House, and has worked for numerous campaigns including the 2018 re-election of Congressman Devin Nunes (CA-22). He is currently a co-host of The Right Take podcast.

Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images