Joe Biden needs to worry? Poll shows only 39% Americans like him as US president

US president Joe Biden’s popularity slipped this month to its lowest level since April, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. The data raises concerns about the Democrat’s re-election bid next year.

The two-day opinion poll showed 39% of respondents approved of Joe Biden’s performance as president which matches April’s reading but is down marginally from 40% in October and 42% in September.

Although, the poll which gathered responses online from 1,019 adults using a nationally representative sample, had a margin of error of about three percentage points.

Joe Biden is widely expected to face a November 2024 rematch with former US president Donald Trump, frontrunner for the Republican nomination. Recent polls have pointed to a potentially close race between the two who faced each other in 2020 US elections as well.

Poll respondents who rated “war and foreign conflicts” as the No. 1 problem rose to 8% in November from 4% in October- showing a sharp escalation in the Israel-Hamas war- the highest measure of concern since April 2022. Then, 9% of respondents cited it as their top concern as Russia invaded Ukraine. A larger share – 20% – said the economy was the top concern while 9% cited crime and 7% cited the environment.

Joe Biden’s public approval rating has held below 50% since August 2021. This month’s rating was close to the lowest levels of his presidency – 36% – seen in mid-2022.