Biden's approval rating a shadow of what Trump's was when he took office

President Joe Biden was sworn in as President on Wednesday, and pollsters such as Rasmussen have just begun their Presidential Tracking Poll, which is updated daily, to gauge the approval rating of the new President among likely voters.

According to Rasmussen, Biden has a +3 approval rating, with 48 percent of voters approving of his presidency so far while 45 percent disapprove. Presidents typically begin their tenure with a honeymoon phase where their approval ratings are relatively higher than at other points in their Presidency. These early numbers do not suggest that this will be the case for Biden.

Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, began his term in office with a 56 percent approval rating, although this rating did suffer as the Trump presidency went on, with the President never recovering to his earlier levels.

Former President Barack Obama, who Biden served as Vice President for, had an even more comfortable beginning with two thirds of voters saying they approved of the way he was handling his job.

Decisions which may have influenced this relatively low rating may include the Biden Administration's move to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline, which a majority of voters said was a "bad idea."

The poll on Keystone, also reported by Rasmussen, suggested that voters generally believe cancelling the pipeline will lead to higher gas prices, which have dropped dramatically during Trump's presidency.

While Rasmussen has a reputation for being Republican-leaning, it is generally lauded by experts as a trustworthy pollster.