Biden's NH job approval under water for 1st time
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Aug. 24—For the first time since President Joe Biden's election, a majority of New Hampshire residents disapprove of his job performance, while six in 10 think he has mishandled foreign policy, according to the University of New Hampshire's latest poll.
Among residents, 54% say they disapproved of the job Biden is doing, 44% approved, and 2% were unsure.
While 71% thought Biden deserved at least some of the blame for the messy withdrawal from Afghanistan, more than 50% said the three presidents before him shared some responsibility for the chaos that ensued after the Taliban seized control in that country earlier this month.
Andrew Smith, director of the UNH Survey Center, said Biden's initial exit strategy for the U.S. from Afghanistan clearly was the pivotal factor in this sudden drop.
Since the center's last survey a month ago, Biden's job approval rating slipped 11 percentage points, and his handling of foreign policy dropped 26 points, Smith said.
Only 16% of independents gave Biden good marks on foreign affairs.
The UNH pollster said he has been surprised at the White House's slow response to what's been Biden's most difficult month in office.
"His political team seems incredibly arrogant about public opinion, like they don't need to worry about it ... until it's too late," Smith said.
Biden's approval rating was 58% among those over 60 and 51% among those under 35, but only about a third of middle-aged residents — the largest demographic — were happy with his performance.
Biden's gender gap
A sizable gender gap has emerged, Smith said, with only 31% of men giving Biden good marks, while 56% of women did.
The online poll of 997 registered voters was conducted from Aug. 19-23 and had a margin of error of 2.7%.
Republican State Committee Executive Director Joe Sweeney said the numbers came as no surprise. He predicted Biden's "misguided approach to leadership" would drag down his party's entire ticket in the 2022 midterm elections.
Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley said Biden will recover as many of his priorities become a reality this fall.
"In less than a year, President Biden and Democrats in Washington have delivered stimulus checks and tax cuts to New Hampshire families, and they will continue fighting to expand opportunity for Granite State families, veterans, and small businesses," Buckley said.
"He will soon sign the bipartisan infrastructure bill that will repair our roads and bridges, invest in clean energy, provide high-speed internet access to rural areas, improve our coastal resiliency, and create high-paying jobs for Granite Staters."
Smith said that while Biden's approval rating was 10 points under water, former President Donald Trump's approval rating was 17 points lower than his disapproval number at the same point in his first term.
