Dem
51
GOP
49
Actually, as long as we're on the subject of Joe Biden's approval rating, let's take note of the latest Harvard/Harris poll. They asked the question: "From what you know, do you think Joe Biden was involved with his son in an illegal influence peddling scheme while he was Vice President, or do you think that is not the case?"
Take a moment, and guess what percentage said "yes, I think he was." While you consider your answer, we will note that the pollster did not allow respondents to dodge the question, they either had to say "yes" or "no." So, the percentages—20%/80%? 40%/60%? 50%/50%? 70%/30%?—do add up to 100. And now... the finding of the poll was that a staggering 53% think that Biden was involved in illegal influence peddling, while only 47% think he wasn't. Among Republicans, 70% believe that. Among independents, 58% believe that. And even among Democrats, 25% believe that.
The Harvard/Harris poll, for whatever reason, has had a slight rightward lean for several years. And any single poll can be an outlier, of course. That said, it's probable that either a majority, or close to a majority, of Americans think that Biden has behaved corruptly. Clearly, the Republican attacks on the President and his son are landing with voters. And if someone thinks that a president is corrupt, well, it's hard for them to declare that they approve of that president. Add those folks to the people who think Biden isn't lefty enough, and maybe that's how you end up with a president who's pulling about 41% right now, despite a pretty solid track record.
That said, an even greater percentage of Americans think Donald Trump is corrupt, and with considerably better evidence for thinking that way. So, we could well end up with a situation where Biden wins reelection because a sizable number of voters see him as the less bad, less corrupt option between two bad, corrupt options. (Z)