Poll: Biden losing ground on COVID-19 response

The increase in COVID-19 cases largely among the unvaccinated is impacting poll numbers for President Joe Biden.

Seems fair, especially considering that a lot of it is Republicans who suddenly don’t like what he’s doing, and also that it’s mostly Republicans who are unvaccinated.

Biden still gets a 53 percent to 40 percent favorable rating on his handling of COVID-19 stuff, according to the new poll from Quinnipiac University.

Looking at the partisan breakdown, the big mover is among Republicans. Back in May, 34 percent of Republicans approved of Biden’s handling of COVID, with 62 percent not approving.

The new numbers: 14 percent of Republicans approve, and 76 percent don’t.

There’s been movement among independents as well – from a 65 percent/28 percent split in May to 54 percent/39 percent split in the new poll.

Democrats were at an 89 percent/8 percent split in May, and are at a 92 percent/7 percent split in the new poll.

“He has been leading the charge in the battle to beat back COVID, so why is President Biden losing ground with Americans? As the unvaccinated fall victim to the Delta variant, the ‘turning the corner’ optimism from the White House may be starting to ring premature,” Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy said.

That would be one way to look at it, except that, again, the unvaccinated largely fall among the group of people who have suddenly decided that they don’t like the job that Biden is doing.

Is it so much turning the corner optimism being premature, or the ideas being floated out by the Biden team to try to get more people from among the unvaccinated to finally get their shots, at the threat of those folks being subject to having to go back to wearing masks and social distancing, and more and more companies thinking out loud about requiring their employees to get vaxxed or risk losing their jobs?

Story by Chris Graham