Biden finishes 2023 with 39% approval, lower than any modern president at same point in term: Gallup

On Friday, The last poll for 2023 showed President Joe Biden will finish the year with the lowest job approval rating of any modern president heading into a reelection year. 

According to Gallup, the poll's field period between Dec. 1 and 20 has the president with a 39 percent job approval rating, with support from Democrats trending downward at 78 percent approval, and 34 percent among independents.

Comparatively, at the same point in their presidencies, other leaders such as Jimmy Carter had a 54 percent approval rating, Ronald Reagan at 54 percent, George H.W. Bush at 51 percent, Bill Clinton at 51 percent, George W. Bush at 58 percent, Barack Obama at 43 percent and Donald Trump 45 percent. 

The December report is a slight increase for President Biden, who saw the lowest approval numbers of his presidency in October and November with 37 percent. 

The report notes that the economy is one major factor to consider, with 33 percent of Americans rating it as fair and an even higher 45 percent outright saying it is poor. Only 3 percent described it as excellent and just 19 percent said it is good. Meanwhile, 68 percent of Americans believe the economy is getting worse, while only 28 percent say it is improving. 

A poll released earlier this month shows that former President Trump leads President Biden in every swing state. Trump leads 40 to 33 percent in Arizona, 44 to 34 percent in Florida, 45 to 35 percent in Georgia, 39 to 38 percent in Michigan, 44 to 35 percent in North Carolina, and 44 to 37 percent in Pennsylvania.

Among those polled, the voters overwhelmingly said that the economy was the most important issue for them in determining who they were going to vote for in the 2024 election with an average of 40 percent across the six states polled. Abortion came in second with an average of 12 percent responding as such. 

An NBC poll in November showed President Biden losing the support of those 18-34 in age, with foreign policy being a major sticking point. 70 percent of the respondents in that age range said they disapprove of his handling of the war between Israel and Hamas.