Vice President Kamala Harris' approval rating has edged past President Joe Biden's in new polling from Gallup but both Democrats continue to suffer strong disapproval after a turbulent first year in office.
The vice president now appears to be a more polarizing figure than Biden, recording both a higher approval and disapproval rating. The poll conducted from December 1 to 16 showed Harris' approval rating stood at 44 percent and her disapproval was 54 percent, while 1 percent had no opinion.
Gallup found that 43 percent of respondents approved of the president, while 51 percent disapproved of him and 6 percent had no opinion. These numbers are consistent with polling that has shown Biden underwater since August 30—the day before the final withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
The poll surveyed 811 U.S. adults and had a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.
The results are mixed for Biden and Harris, showing that most respondents disapprove of them but more Americans appear to have a fixed view of the vice president.
Harris' net disapproval in Gallup's poll stands at +10 percent with apparently little room to win over undecided Americans.
By contrast, Biden's net disapproval stands at +8 percent and a larger percentage of poll respondents expressed no opinion, leaving open the possibility that they may change their views about the president.
Poll tracker FiveThirtyEight is tracking Biden and Harris' approval rating by analyzing a wide variety of polls and through its own system of pollster rankings. It rates Gallup polling as B+.
FiveThirtyEight's most recent figures take into account the latest Gallup poll and gave the vice president a disapproval rating of 47.5 percent as of December 26, compared to just 40 percent approval.
Biden enjoyed an approval rating of 43.1 percent as of December 28, according to FiveThirtyEight's analysis, while his disapproval stood at 51.7 percent. The president's approval appeared to be creeping up the past few weeks but has fallen back from a high of 43.9 percent on December 19.
Biden has faced criticism on a number of fronts, such as the withdrawal from Afghanistan and inflation rising at a near 40-year high in November, while Democrats have also struggled to pass the president's agenda, including the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better Act.
Harris has also had a difficult first year in office, facing an exodus of senior staff and a series of damaging news stories suggesting a rift between her and the president.
Though the Gallup poll may not be particularly good news for Harris and Biden, it also shows low approval ratings for other senior politicians, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
Respondents disapproved of Pelosi by 58 percent to 40 percent with just 2 percent expressing no opinion, while House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had 46 percent approval, 49 percent disapproval and 4 percent with no opinion.
Just 34 percent of respondents approved of McConnell, while 63 percent disapproved and 3 percent had no opinion. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer obtained 44 percent approval and 53 percent disapproval with 3 percent having on opinion.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more
