U.S. monthly presidential job approval rating of Biden 2021-2024

As of August 2024, about 41.7 percent of Americans approved of the way Joe Biden was handling his job as president. This is a slight increase from the previous month's approval rating, which dipped below 40 percent for the first time in 12 months. 

Congressional Approval

In March 2021, congressional approval reached a 12-year high, with a 36 percent approval rating. However, congressional approval decreased in the following months. Approval ratings for Congress tend to be quite low, as many Americans have low trust in politicians and institutions in the country. The high approval rating in March 2021 came after Congress passed a COVID-19 relief bill to provide financial assistance to Americans during the pandemic.

Handling of the pandemic

Biden’s higher approval rating early in his presidency can, in-part, be attributed to how he tackled COVID-19. Taking a more hands-on approach in comparison to his predecessor, Biden supported mandated mask-wearing and expedited vaccines nationwide. About 40 percent of Americans either somewhat or strongly approved of the way the President was handling the virus, while about 45 percent either somewhat disapproved or strongly disapproved of his actions. As the two major parties disagreed on how to tackle the pandemic, existing divisions were further entrenched. A majority of the strong support came from Democrats, while most of the disapproval came from Republicans. Despite the low rating, the president's party performed relatively well at the 2022 midterm elections. While the economic situation in the United States was a large part of pre-election discourse, voters were more motivated by abortion rights and democracy.