Nearly 8 in 10 State of the Union watchers approved of Biden's remarks: poll

Nearly 80 percent of those who watched President Biden's first State of the Union address approved of his remarks, according to a new poll released on Wednesday.

A new CBS News/YouGov poll found that 78 percent of surveyed Americans who watched Biden's address approved of his remarks, while 22 percent disapproved.

Those surveyed were also asked to check all of the feelings that applied to them after watching his speech, and many said they came away with positive feelings. Sixty-seven percent said they felt "optimistic" and over 50 percent said they felt "proud."

In contrast, 20 percent of respondents said they felt pessimistic, 13 percent said they felt angry, and nine percent said they felt scared.

When asked about Biden's policies, those surveyed responded more positively in multiple areas after the speech than they had before it. After watching Biden's address, 79 percent of respondents said the president's policies would help control the coronavirus pandemic, compared with 70 percent before, while 71 percent said they would deal effectively with Russia, compared with 60 percent before, and 64 percent said they would lower inflation, compared with 48 percent before.

A CNN poll conducted by SSRS also said that a majority of surveyed Americans who watched Biden's speech - 71 percent - had a positive reaction to it, though the network noted that friendlier audiences, and more Democrats than Republicans, tend to be attracted to these speeches.

In the CBS/YouGov poll, 49 percent of respondents identified as Democrats, while 21 percent said that they were Republicans and 28 percent that they were Independents.

CNN also noted that approval ratings are generally not affected in lasting or significant ways by State of the Union addresses.

A Bipartisan Policy Center-commissioned survey from Morning Consult this week found that 44 percent of Americans approved of Biden's job as president, marking a slight increase from other recent polling.

The president has dealt with a number of issues while in office, including a lingering COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and supply chain issues, the chaotic Afghanistan evacuations, infighting among members of his party over passing Democratic legislative priorities and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The CBS/YouGov poll was conducted on March 1 with 1,486 adults who watched Biden's Tuesday address. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.