Just a quarter of Americans think Joe Biden’s presidency has been good for the country, according to a new poll – a signs that could be damning for his upcoming hopes for reelection.
Donald Trump’s presidency, by contrast, is viewed in a much more favorable light since he left office, even by those who voted against him.
The poll by the left-leaning New York Times of 1,059 registered voters found perceptions of Trump’s effect on the country became more positive over time.
His handling of the economy in particular is remembered positively, especially since the runaway inflation of 2022-23 happened under Biden.
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania
The economic forces that affected each presidency were largely outside to control of both leaders, but voters associate them with them all the same.
Trump got a 10 percent boost in how voters felt of his handling of the economy was compared to 2020, the New Yok Times-Sienna poll found.
His handling of maintaining law and order also rose eight percent, despite that being almost entirely the purview of state and local governments.
‘When he was first running, I was, like, what is this guy even yapping about? Like, what is he even saying? Like, he’s saying all the wrong things,’ Maya Garcia, a former ‘Trump hater’ told the Times.
‘But to be honest, if you look deep into his personality, he actually cares about the country. You know at first I didn’t like it. But sometimes we need that type of person in our lives.’
Trump also got a nine percent boost on perceptions of whether he left the country better off, a metric in which he has a commanding lead over Biden.
‘We all had a little bit more money in our pockets when he was in office. I think he gave out more money than any other president that I have had in my lifetime,’ Marecus Maupin, 31, told the Times.
‘It now feels like, although I’m making more, I’m not seeing it.’
Just 25 percent of voters in the poll view Biden’s presidency so far as ‘good for America’, compared with 46 percent who said it was mostly bad.
Trump has 42 percent of voters in his corner on that question, with 33 percent saying it was mostly bad.
The two men are set to square off in November for the presidential election, as Biden continues to trail in many polls and Trump looks to return to the White House after being defeated in 2020.
Trump took credit (pictured) for the Supreme Court repealing Roe vs Wade, which had since 1973 established a constitutional right to abortions
A Trump voter attends a rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend
Other views of Trump including his handling of Covid, the Supreme Court, and ‘unifying America’ were all mostly unchanged with only very small increases, a Times poll found
The percentage of voters who believed he ‘respects women’ also dropped by four after countless statements degrading women and their issues.
Trump also took credit for the Supreme Court repealing Roe vs Wade, which had since 1973 established a constitutional right to abortions.
Fear over a Trump second term has also subsided, the Times found. In 2016, about 40 percent said they were scared what Trump would do if elected. That figure now sits at 31 percent today.
Presidents being remembered more fondly in hindsight is normal and happened with both Barack Obama and George W Bush.
But the difference is only one president has served two non-consecutive terms – Grover Cleveland in 1885-89 and 1893-97.
This makes changing views of Trump more relevant and could help propel him to office even if voters who back him after wistfully remembering the economy being better in his time realizing why they voted against him in 2020.
President Joe Biden got the poorest marks on ‘cost of living’ and ‘immigration and border security’ with more than half of those surveyed saying he hurt the country on those issues
Nearly half of the Americans surveyed said former President Donald Trump hurt the country on the issues of abortion and foreign relations
The newest Times poll come after recent results from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that found more than half of American adults think Biden’s presidency has hurt the country on cost of living and immigration.
Nearly half think Trump’s presidency hurt the country on voting rights and election security, relations with foreign countries, abortion laws and climate change.
When asked which president did more to help people like them, about one-third said Trump and a quarter said Biden. While, 30 percent said neither has helped all that much.
Americans rated Biden particularly negatively on several key issues. Only two in ten think his presidency has helped ‘a lot’ or ‘a little’ in their cost in living. Even fewer, 16 percent, say its been helpful on immigration and border security.
About 60 percent said Biden’s administration hurt them on those issues.
Nearly half, 46 percent, of Americans, said Trump’s presidency helped ‘a lot’ or ‘a little’ on immigration or border security and 40 percent believed it helped on cost of living.