Biden Outperformed At SOTU But Approval On Issues Unchanged

A new survey from Ipsos has found that, “Roughly three in ten Americans say President Joe Biden outperformed their expectations at Thursday’s State of the Union address,” but “more than one in three Americans – including nearly half of Americans under age 30 – did not read, see, or hear about the address.”

• Ipsos adds: “While the president exceeded expectations for some, his approval rating on key issues remains unchanged, as the majority disapprove of his handling of the economy, crime, and the Israel/Hamas war, among others.”
• The Washington Post notes that, although polls point to a positive reception, "State of the Union speeches almost always receive strongly favorable views, in part because viewership tends to draw disproportionately from their allies."
• The Post notes, on a CNN poll: "The 65 percent who had a positive view of the speech was actually lower than any such speech CNN has polled in the past quarter-century — the previous low being Donald Trump’s 2018 address (70 percent)."

Figure 1: Biden Approval on Issues and State of the Union

Source: Ipsos