Biden's approval rating among Dems drops 11 points in one month
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President Biden's approval rating among Democrats has plummeted to a record low of 75% — down a staggering 11 percentage points over just the last month, according to a new Gallup poll conducted between Oct. 2 and Oct. 23.
Why it matters: Biden is at risk of alienating members of his own party with his unequivocal support for Israel, which has carried out a weeks-long bombardment and total siege of Gaza in response to Hamas' Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.
- An annual Gallup poll conducted in February found that Democrats sympathized more with Palestinians than Israelis for the first time in the survey's two-decade history.
- The divide is particularly stark between generations: Less than half (48%) of Gen Z and millennials believe the U.S. should publicly voice support for Israel, according to a recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll.
Zoom in: Biden's initial response to the Oct. 7 massacre — including his trip to Israel, request for $14 billion in military aid, and speeches decrying Hamas as "sheer evil" — drew widespread praise from supporters of Israel.
- But the president's steadfast support for the Jewish state has not translated to new political support at home, according to four national polls conducted after Oct. 10.
- Biden's approval in October's Gallup poll fell four points to match a record low of 37%, driven by his slide among Democrats and a four-point drop-off among independents (35%). His approval among Republicans remained steady at 5%.
The big picture: Biden has waved off calls from progressives and pro-Palestinian activists for a ceasefire in Gaza, even as he has privately nudged Israel to delay its ground invasion to secure the release of more hostages.
- The death toll in Gaza — which has exceeded 7,000, according to the Ministry of Health of the Hamas-run government — is expected to spiral if and when the Israel Defense Forces enter the densely populated strip.
- Biden has called for the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza to increase — while stressing that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people and condemning rising anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the U.S.
The bottom line: Many Muslim and Arab Americans who consider themselves loyal Democratic voters have expressed a sense of betrayal over Biden's support for the Israeli military campaign.
- "Joe Biden has single-handedly alienated almost every Arab American and Muslim American voter in Michigan," Democratic state Rep. Alabas Farhat told NBC News last week.
- The Council on American-Islamic Relations demanded Biden apologize Wednesday for suggesting that he does not have confidence in the death toll cited by Gaza's health ministry: "I'm sure innocents have been killed and it is the price of waging war," Biden said.
