Biden’s approval rating drops to 50% in AP poll

President Biden’s job approval rating has dropped to 50% in the latest Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll as he faces mounting criticism over his handling of issues, including the military withdrawal of Afghanistan and the thousands of Haitian migrants on the southern border.

The survey, conducted Sept. 23-27, found that about 49 percent of U.S. adults disapprove of Biden’s overall performance just over eight months after taking office.

The approval rate marks a drop from 54 percent measured in an AP-NORC poll in August and 59 percent in July.

Other recent inquiries have found the president underwater. A Gallup poll last week showed Biden only had a 43% approval rating, down 16 points from August.

Friday’s AP-NORC poll found that Biden’s approval among Democrats had declined slightly since July, from 92% to 85%, while a much larger drop occurred among American adults who s identified as independent, from 62% in July to 38% last month.

About 47% of Americans overall have a positive view of Biden’s handling of the economy, although only 1 in 10 Republican gave Biden positive ratings, compared to 8 in 10 Democrats.

The poll also revealed weak approval of Biden’s handling of the United States’ comprehensive military evacuation of Afghanistan, which preceded the rapid takeover of the country by the Taliban.

The withdrawal and evacuation of vulnerable Americans and Afghans from the country was also marred by an ISIS-K suicide bombing attack on Kabul International Airport, which killed 13 US servicemen and more than 200 Afghan civilians.

Only 34% of American adults included in Friday’s AP-NORC poll said they approved of Biden’s policy in Afghanistan, while 65% gave the president negative ratings.

However, the AP noted on Friday that some poll respondents who had mixed feelings about Biden’s job performance in follow-up interviews said they still preferred him to the old one. President TrumpDonald TrumpNigerian President To Lift Twitter Ban If Conditions Are Met Grisham Calls Kushner “Rasputin In Fitted Suit” Federal Court Orders FEC To Rule On NRA PLUS Shell Entity Campaign Claim, which many have argued was the root of many of the problems Biden is compelled to resolve.

The poll was also conducted at the height of the backlash against the Biden administration’s deportations of thousands of Haitian migrants who had gathered under a bridge near a Texas border town.

Photos and videos of some border officers on horseback aggressively chasing migrants have also sparked a further surge, with many saying the administration is not acting humanely in implementing its immigration policy.

Secretary for Homeland Security Alejandro mayorkasAlejandro Mayorkas DHS insists officers’ discretion in new deportation priorities Diplomat says Panama has “sounded the alarm” on Haitian migrants, adding more are on their way to concerned US DHS by a possible increase in borders if the COVID-19 restriction is partially lifted: PLUS report denied that the migrant deportations were inhumane or unethical, defending the use of Title 42 to immediately deport migrants heading to the United States amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Friday’s poll, which included nearly 1,100 American adults, reported a margin of error of about 4 percentage points.