WASHINGTON (AP) – Two weeks after the start of a new administration, most Americans claim to have at least some confidence in President Joe Biden and his ability to manage the countless crises the country faces, including the violent coronavirus pandemic..
Overall, 61% approve of how Biden is handling his job in his early days in office, according to a new survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. While most of Biden’s support comes from his fellow Democrats, about a quarter of Republicans say they approve of their early days in office.
Even at a time of deep national divisions, these figures suggest that Biden, like most of his recent predecessors, can enjoy a honeymoon period. Almost all modern presidents had approval ratings of 55% or more in the first three months in office, according to the Gallup survey. There was one exception: Donald Trump, whose approval rating never exceeded 50% in Gallup polls, even at the beginning of his presidency.
Biden’s position with the public will soon face significant tests. He inherited from Trump a pandemic getting out of hand, a slow release of crucial vaccines, deep economic uncertainty and the shocking consequences of the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill. It is a historic confluence of crises that historians have compared to what Abraham Lincoln faced on the eve of the Civil War or Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the depths of the Great Depression.
Biden’s advisers know that the new president will be quickly tried by the Americans for his way of dealing with the pandemic, which killed more than 450,000 people in the US, he is urgently pressing Congress to approve a $ 1.9 trillion aid package this would include funds for vaccine distribution, reopening schools and state and local governments suffering from the pressure of the pandemic.
“We have to go big, not small,” Biden told House Democrats on Tuesday. He signaled that he is open to cutting his $ 1.9 trillion bid, but not as much as some Republicans expect. A group of Republican senators presented their own $ 618 billion package.
About three-quarters of Americans say they have at least some confidence in Biden’s ability to deal with the pandemic, while about a quarter have almost none. Still, that trust is measured – no more than about 4 out of 10 say they have “a lot” of confidence in Biden to deal with any question questioned in the survey.
From the beginning, Biden sought to differentiate his approach to the pandemic and to govern as a whole from Trump’s approach. He empowered public health officials and other experts, putting them at the forefront of briefings on COVID-19 and other political issues, unlike the former president, who often clashed with members of his coronavirus task force..
According to the AP-NORC survey, about 8 out of 10 have at least some confidence in Biden to incorporate the advice of experts and consultants into their decision making. Approximately three-quarters have much, if any, confidence in Biden’s ability to effectively manage the White House.
A December AP-NORC survey showed that Americans identified the pandemic and the economy as their top priorities for the U.S. government in 2021. The two issues are directly related, with the pandemic destroying businesses across the country and creating economic uncertainty as states and cities struggle with restrictions on public health.
About two-thirds of Americans say they have at least some confidence in Biden’s ability to manage the economy and jobs. This is similar to their assessments of the public in their approach to health, race relations and climate change.
In his first two weeks in office, Biden signed a storm of executive orders on these political and other priorities, largely aimed at undoing the Trump administration’s actions. Among them: resuming the Paris climate deal, suspending new oil and gas leases on public land and reversing the Trump-era travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority countries.
But executive actions they are inherently limited in scope, and Biden needs Congress to intervene to help him approve the broader aspects of his agenda. He has the smallest Democratic majority in the House and Senate, which means he will need some Republican support for his agenda or will have to make changes to the rules that would allow the legislation to pass with fewer votes.
Only 20% of Americans say they have great confidence in Biden’s ability to work with Republicans in Congress, although another 45% say they are somewhat confident.
Tom Tierney, 65, of Richland, Washington, voted for Biden in November and said he was skeptical of the Republicans’ willingness to work with the new president. He asked Biden not to waste time if Republican leaders are delaying his agenda.
“I think Biden will eventually have to play hard and say, you know what, you really don’t want to compromise,” said Tierney, who described himself as a moderate independent.
Biden was already facing huge headwinds after winning the election, but the crisis the country faces has worsened after the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill. The insurrection revealed the extent to which Trump’s false attacks on the integrity of the election it resonated with its supporters and the threat it posed to the country’s democratic institutions.
In his inaugural speech, Biden noted the durability and fragility of American democracy, a particularly striking message, as he was speaking from the same Capitol steps that were invaded by the pro-Trump crowd just two weeks earlier.
Most Americans – 70% – say they think Biden respects the country’s democratic institutions.
Miguel Castillo, 39, of Columbus, Georgia, voted for Trump in 2020 and was not impressed by Biden’s early moves. Still, he said he was hopeful for the good of the country that the new president will succeed.
“Whatever he does, it affects all of us Americans,” said Castillo. “I hope your presidency is a good one. I don’t want him to fail. Honestly no. “
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The AP-NORC survey of 1,055 adults was conducted from January 28 to February 28. 1 using a sample taken from the NORC probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which was designed to be representative of the US population. The sampling error margin for all respondents is about 3.8 percentage points.
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AP-NORC Center: http://www.apnorc.org/.