President Biden’s much-hyped State of the Union address had little to no effect on his popularity among Americans, according to a pair of post-speech polls out this week.
Only 37% of voters approved of Biden’s handling of the country in the aftermath of his address, according to a HarrisX State of the Union poll revealed Monday, while a USA Today/Suffolk survey published Wednesday showed 33% saying the speech positively impacted their view of the president.
Among those surveyed in the HarrisX poll, a majority (64%) said Biden should not seek another term, while 61% said he did not adequately address immigration and 59% said his speech only served to further divide the country.
A majority of respondents (57%) also said the speech raised concerns about Biden’s age and 54% said it raised questions about his fitness for office.
The USA Today/Suffolk poll also showed Biden having an approval rating of just 41% and a disapproval rating of 55% — a slight uptick from the last survey taken by the outlet in December, which showed a 39% approval rating and a 58% disapproval rating.
A third of poll respondents said they thought the US economy was in recovery — the highest reading since the president took office in January 2021.
Biden and former President Donald Trump clinched the Democratic and Republican nominations, respectively, on Tuesday and the USA Today poll showed a tight race shaping up in November.
Trump had 40% of the prospective vote while Biden had 38%.
Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. scored 9% while fellow independent Cornel West and Green Party candidate Jill Stein each recorded 2%.
The HarrisX poll showed that if the election were held today, 46% of voters would support Trump and 41% would back Biden. With so-called “leaners” included, Trump led Biden 52% to 48%.
In a five-way race, Trump led Biden 41% to 35%, with RFK Jr. getting 12% and West and Stein at 1% each.
However, the USA Today/Suffolk poll indicated a quarter of voters might change their minds before Election Day.
Meanwhile, a majority of those now supporting third-party candidates, including 75% of RFK Jr. supporters and 94% of Stein supporters, said they could be swayed to other contenders.
The HarrisX poll was conducted online March 8-10 among 2,017 registered voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
The USA Today/Suffolk poll was conducted March 8-11 via landline and cellphone, had a sample size of 1,000 registered voters and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1%.
