200 million vaccine shots, hot markets, big spending – Biden’s first 100 days, in charts

The president’s Republican predecessor maintained historically low approval numbers throughout his one term in office, never cracking the 50% threshold, Gallup polling shows.

Compared with other presidents, Biden’s rating is less impressive. He’s ranked third-lowest of any president since Dwight Eisenhower at the 100-day mark, according to Gallup.

Americans tend to give Biden his lowest marks on his handling of China, guns and immigration.

Still, it’s notable that Biden is garnering positive ratings at a time of extreme political polarization. Gallup’s latest survey shows Biden with just 11% approval among Republicans, but he nets 58% approval from independents. At this point in Trump’s presidency, just 37% of independents gave him a thumbs up, Gallup shows.

Biden’s approval appears to be buoyed largely by his administration’s decision to focus intently on Covid from Day 1.

Americans still see the coronavirus as one of the most pressing issues facing the country, and several polls show Biden receiving highest marks for his handling of the pandemic. Biden pushed hard for Congress to pass the $1.9 trillion Covid relief plan, which many more Americans support than oppose.

But there’s also more of an appetite for the sort of big-ticket government spending that the administration has put forward. Fifty-five percent of respondents in a recent NBC News survey, for instance, said the government should do more to solve problems and help meet the peoples’ needs, versus 41% who said it’s doing too much.

Even before the White House detailed Biden’s latest spending plan — a $1.8 trillion package aimed at helping children, students and families — nearly two-thirds of respondents in a Monmouth University poll said they backed the idea.

Experts say it makes sense that Biden’s economic proposals — presented in their loftiest, most ambitious form — seem to resonate with Americans. But those plans are bound to change drastically once lawmakers get ahold of his agenda, and it’s unclear what Congress will be able to pass.

Democrats hold a slim majority in the House, and a razor-thin advantage in the Senate. The filibuster rules in the Senate requires 60 votes for much legislation to be passed, and Democrats’ ability to bypass that hurdle through budget reconciliation can be used only sparingly.

Biden has repeatedly said he seeks bipartisan input, while stressing that inaction on his agenda is not an option. But there’s little indication that Republicans will support anything like Biden’s plans in their current form.

In addition, some moderate-to-conservative-leaning Democrats, such as Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, are already voicing skepticism about the spending push.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/30/bidens-first-100-days-in-charts-vaccines-hot-markets-big-spending.html