As President Joe Biden reaches one hundred days as commander-in-chief, several recent national polls and surveys reveal the 46th POTUS is receiving strong approval ratings from millions of Americans. Lauded for a focused and straightforward handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden receives accolades from his constituents and even some die-hard supporters of his immediate and fallen predecessor, Donald Trump.
According to several national polls, most notably the CBS News Poll, about 58 percent of Americans approve of President Biden’s overall job performance since assuming the presidency in January. Similarly, former president George W. Bush had a 56 percent approval rating at the same period 20 years ago. Both figures are below that of former President Barack Obama, who had a whopping 68 percent approval rating at the 100-day mark. Contrarily, ex-president Donald Trump had only a 41 percent approval rating during the same period in 2017.
The data shows that despite the above-average overall approval ratings for the Biden administration, support and criticism of the administration is sharply divided among party lines. Biden garners approval from Democrats, most independents, and nearly everyone who voted for him in 2020. Most Republicans disapprove of his leadership in the past two and half months; roughly half (47 percent) acknowledge his handling of the overall response to the COVID-19 pandemic compared to that of the Trump administration. Additionally, more than half of all registered Republicans said they would not take the vaccinations and remain ambivalent about vaccinations and the alleged scourge of the pandemic–despite figures from the CDC indicating more than 575,000 deaths from or related to COVID-19 in the U.S. However, a whopping 70 percent of registered Republicans still believe the 2020 election was invalid, and Trump was the actual victor and not Biden. The assertion has been debunked by countless election panels, legal scholars, media outlets, and multiple courts.
Lastly, throughout his presidency and immediately following his loss, Trump vowed to form a third political party— one that would effectively challenge the steadfastly conservative and rigid leanings of the current GOP. The eponymous bloc of followers would follow the ideology of Trumpism and be called the party of Trump. “I would not leave the Republican Party to follow Trump,” said Robert Smith Jr. Smith, a native of New York and a long-time GOP member. He is also a current candidate for the Allentown (PA) school board. “The Republican party is not about one person, it was created by ideas, not Trumpism.” Smith added, “Let Trump leave, I will stay and rebuild the party without him.”
And Douglas Suhan, a native New Jerseyan, lives in Florida and is a former GOP member. “I supported most of Trump’s foreign policy positions, and most of his economic policies—with some reservations regrading both,” Suhan said. “I detested his behavior as he departed the White House. I am now an independent voter.”
To view the findings from the CBS News poll, visit cbsnews.com/feature/cbsnews-polls.