Biden’s Staunch Support for Israel Might Be Costing Him Dearly Among Democratic Voters: Poll
‘As events in the Middle East continue to unfold and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens, Biden’s guidance on Israel could affect not only the outcome of the war but also how he is viewed at home,’ the pollsters write.
President Biden’s approval rating has slid to tie an all-time low in a new survey from Gallup, indicating that the crisis in the Middle East could be costing him popularity.
Mr. Biden’s approval rating slumped 4 points between Gallup’s September and October polls, dropping 4 points with independents and 11 points among Democrats. His approval rating was unchanged at 5 percent among Republicans.
Mr. Biden’s approval rating is at the lowest point of his presidency, except for in April of this year, when he also saw it at 37 percent.
The latest survey was conducted between October 2 and October 23, meaning most of the data was collected after an October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas that resulted in more than 1,400 Israelis dead and 200 kidnapped.
Since then, an Israeli counteroffensive against Hamas has, the Hamas-run health ministry says, resulted in the deaths of an estimated 5,000 Gazans. Hamas’ death count is widely disputed. Just this week, President Biden said at a press conference that he has “no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using.”
In the wake of the attack on Israel, Mr. Biden promised “rock solid and unwavering” support for the Israelis, and he visited the country on October 18.
While the poll is not designed to ask respondents why they approve or disapprove of Mr. Biden, the pollster noted that “the daily results strongly suggest that Democrats’ approval of Biden fell sharply in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks by Hamas and Biden’s promise of full support for Israel on the same day.”
“As events in the Middle East continue to unfold and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens, Biden’s guidance on Israel could affect not only the outcome of the war but also how he is viewed at home,” the pollsters wrote.
Compared to other presidents in the 11th quarter of their presidencies, Mr. Biden is similarly popular to both Presidents Trump and Obama, despite the sharp decline in October.
On average, Mr. Biden enjoyed the approval of 40 percent of respondents between July 20 and October 19. At the same point in their presidencies, Messrs. Trump and Obama enjoyed average quarterly approval ratings of 40.7 percent and 41 percent, respectively.
