President Joe Biden's approval rating has climbed to a nine-month high as he pivots to govern with a divided Congress, the January IBD/TIPP Poll finds.
Biden's job approval rating jumped 4.5 points to 49.1 in the new IBD/TIPP Poll. The IBD/TIPP presidential job approval figure indicates that 49.1% of adults who stated an opinion approve of Biden's job performance and 50.9% disapprove, in a measure that excludes those who were unsure or declined to say.
Including the full survey group, 44% of American adults approve of how Biden is handling the presidency, and 46% disapprove. Biden's net -2 approval rating improved from -9 in December, with 40% approval and 49% disapproval.
What's behind the bounce in Biden's approval rating? That's hard to say. Perhaps Biden seemed like a stabilizing figure last week as a vocal minority tried to wrest control of the GOP House agenda, with Kevin McCarthy finally being elected as Speaker on the 15th round of voting. Meanwhile, Biden made efforts to seem less polarizing, appearing last week with GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell to announce $1 billion in funding via the 2021 infrastructure law for a new bridge connecting Kentucky and Ohio.
The Biden administration also announced new measures to stem a huge flood of border crossings by asylum seekers from Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Those who cross the border from Mexico to seek asylum would be banned from applying again for five years. Humanitarian groups blasted the moves, though Republican critics dismissed the measures as insufficient.
Biden Approval Rating Details
The rise in Biden's approval rating came as his standing among independents saw a bit more improvement from dire levels. Net disapproval of Biden narrowed to -23 points from -25 in December, -27 in November and -29 in October. Now, 54% of independents pan Biden's job performance and 31% approve. That compares with 55%-30% last month, 55%-28% in November and 56%-27% in October.
If Biden is tacking to the center, Democrats may not have picked up on it yet. Among members of his own party, approval of Biden jumped to 76%, as disapproval fell to 16%. That compares to 71%-20% in November and 75%-17% in October.
Meanwhile, Republican disapproval of Biden narrowed to 80%-13% from 84%-9% last month and from 84%-11% in November.
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Approval Of President Biden's Policies
Net disapproval of Biden's economic policies narrowed to -17 points from -22 in the new IBD/TIPP Poll. Now adults disapprove of Biden's economic policies 46%-29% vs. 51%-29% in December.
All signs point to inflation as a major source of Biden's poor reviews. U.S. employers added 10.7 million jobs in the first 23 months of Biden's presidency, including 223,000 last month, Labor Department data shows. Meanwhile, the average hourly wage has grown a solid 4.6% 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 21% of adults say their wages have kept pace with inflation, while 52% say they haven't kept pace. Meanwhile, 89% of Americans are concerned about the path of inflation over the next 12 months. That's despite a 35% drop in the average national gas price since a gallon of regular unleaded peaked above $5 in mid-June.
Investors Back Biden
Biden's approval rating among investors widened to 53%-42% from 50%-43% last month. 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, market action has improved lately, particularly following last Friday's jobs report.
Through Friday, the Dow Jones was down 8.6% from its record closing high in January 2022. The S&P 500 has fallen 18.8% from its peak, while the Nasdaq composite is 34.2% off its November 2021 high. Since Election Day on Nov. 3, 2020, the Dow is up 22.4% and the S&P 500 15.6%, but the Nasdaq has lost 5.3%.
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 noninvestors, who now disapprove of Biden's job performance by a 48%-40% margin. However, the net 8-point disapproval narrowed substantially over the past month. In December, noninvestors disapproved of Biden 53%-36%, a net -17 margin.
The January IBD/TIPP Poll reflects online surveys of 1,356 adults from Jan. 4-6. 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.
