Joe Biden may need to bolster his efforts to secure the support of American voters as the latest polls reveal just how unpopular he is. Approval ratings are closely watched by politicians as they effectively summarise if voters believe they are doing a good job or not. According to the latest polls, Mr Biden has fallen heavily out of favour with the US electorate.

In the latest polls by Five Thirty Eight the US president’s approval rating have plummeted to new lows in recent days.

Just 41.2 percent of those surveyed approved of the president on January 26, 2022, while a staggering 53.9 percent disapproved of him.

His popularity may have climbed a little in recent days, but not enough to allow the president to relax as his approval rating rose by just 0.8 percent on February 2.

The president managed to keep his approval ratings above 50 percent until mid-August 2021, where they have been falling ever since.

At the same time, the number of those who disapprove of Mr Biden has been climbing, in October 2021 it surpassed 50 percent and hasn’t dropped below this figure since.

It is not exactly clear why Mr Biden is so unpopular political analysts believe there are a number of factors behind his lack of support.

These include; America’s shambolic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the president’s misjudging the pandemic and the public’s “Covid fatigue”

Although many wanted to see US troops withdrawn from Afghanistan many condemned the president for America’s shambolic retreat.

The images that emerged of desperate civilians trying to flee the Taliban as they easily regained control of the country created contempt for the way Mr Biden handled the situation.

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Bill Galston, an ex-White House policy adviser to former President Clinton told The Guardian: “The way in which we left Afghanistan inflicted a blow on the president’s general image of experience and competence, which had a lingering effect.”

Analysts also feel that the mixed messaging from Mr Biden which was given at points during the pandemic has caused voters to turn away from him.

The president at times gave false hope to Americans by saying the US was nearly out of the pandemic, only for a new strain of the virus to come along and dash their hopes of returning to life as normal.

For example, in July 2021 he implied that the US was close to declaring “independence” from the virus.

But then the Delta virus arrived causing the US to revert back to heavy restrictions.

Mr Galston said the president and his administration had “not done a good job of managing expectations [around Covid].”

Some analysts are less harsh in their analysis of the situation. Sarah Longwell, a prominent anti-Trump Republican strategist, believes his lack of support is largely down to voter’s Covid fatigue and frustration with the pandemic.

She told the Guardian: “There’s an element of it that has nothing to do with Joe Biden.” She added: “It’s just a tough time.”

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