A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found that more registered voters still disapproved of Biden than approved, with 43 percent approving and 49 percent disapproving. However, the rating represented a marked uptick for the current president, who had a 36 percent approval and 55 percent disapproval rating in an edition of the same poll released November 22.
Trump, who announced he was running for president for a third time last month, had a significantly lower approval rating. Only 31 percent of registered voters viewed the former president favorably, while 59 percent disapproved—his worst rating since July 2015.
Approval of Trump declined among Republican and independent voters in particular. Although 70 percent of GOP voters had a favorable view of Trump, 20 percent viewed him unfavorably in his worst Quinnipiac performance since March 2016. Independents gave Trump his worst rating since the poll began in May 2015, with 25 percent approving and 62 percent disapproving.
“Is it a ripple of doubt or a growing tidal wave of rejection?” Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy said in a statement. “Former President Trump’s post presidential announcement numbers are heading in the wrong direction. You would have to go back at least six years to find less support for him from Republican, independent and American voters as a whole.”
The prospect of Trump becoming the next GOP presidential nominee has recently been in doubt, with some Republicans seeking to distance themselves from the former president amid speculation about a potential challenge from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Trump’s early 2024 campaign has also been plagued by a number of controversial moments from the former president, including his call to “terminate” the Constitution and his decision to dine with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and embattled rapper Kanye West, who recently praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
The former president, who has teased a “major announcement” set for Thursday, is trailing DeSantis in some recent Republican primary polls despite the governor not having announced his candidacy.
Meanwhile, multiple polls have shown that Biden’s approval ratings, while still negative, are on the rise following a better-than-expected showing for Democrats in this year’s midterms. A CNN poll released last week found the president with a 46 percent approval and 54 percent disapproval rating, up from a 41-59 percent split in October.
However, Wednesday’s Quinnipiac poll found that a majority of Americans would prefer to avoid a Biden-Trump rematch in 2024. A 70 percent majority of voters said that they did not want Trump to become the GOP nominee, while 64 percent said that they did not want Biden to become the Democratic nominee.
The Quinnipiac poll results were based on a national survey of 1,456 registered voters, from December 8 to December 12. The poll has a 2.6 percent margin of error.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s office and the White House for comment.
