Key takeaways
- President Biden’s job approval rating is breaking even.
- A growing plurality of Americans say Biden is doing enough to get the United States past the pandemic, while a majority say Republicans are not doing enough.
- Following the announcement of new vaccine mandates, there is an uptick in optimism about the state of the pandemic and worries are beginning to decline.
Biden’s Overall Job Approval Breaking Even
Biden’s overall approval numbers are breaking even, while he is above water on his handling of the pandemic by 8 points and underwater on his handling of the economy by 3 points.
Vaccine Mandates and the Pandemic Dominating Positive Conversation Around Biden
While 54% overall report hearing “mostly positive” or a mix of positive and negative about Biden this week, 83% of Democrats report hearing at least some positive, as do 49% of independents and 25% of Republicans.
Growing Shares Say Biden Is Doing Enough to Get Country Past Pandemic While Republicans Are Not
Since August 30th, there has been a 4-point increase in the share who say Biden is doing enough, including a 5-point increase among both independents (from 33% to 38%) and Republicans (23% to 28%).
Following the Announcement of New Vaccine Mandates, Fewer Say “Worst Is Yet To Come” in the Pandemic
The decline in the share saying “the worst is yet to come” is driven by independents (from 61% to 49%), Black Americans (68% to 49%), AAPI (51% to 36%), and Hispanic Americans (55% to 43%).
Worries About the Delta Variant and Economic Recovery Have Declined Slightly
Worries about the spread of the Delta variant have dropped 5 points since August 30th (from 46% to 41%), while worries about the threat to economic recovery have dropped 4 points (from 40% to 36%).
Seven in Ten Americans Remain “Pro-Mask”
While the majority of Democrats (92%) and independents (67%) say they are generally pro-mask, Republicans are largely divided (43% pro-mask/45% anti-mask).
Vaccinated Republicans Are More Likely to Be Men, CollegeEducated, White Collar, Suburban, Higher-Earning
Unvaccinated Republicans, on the other hand, are more likely to be female, non-college, blue collar, reside in rural parts of the country, and earn less than $50,000 in annual household income.
About The Study
This release features findings from a national online survey of 995 registered voters conducted September 9-13, 2021. Additional interviews were conducted among 100 Hispanic voters, 100 African American voters, 100 independents without a partisan lean, and 79 Asian American and Pacific Islander voters.
