Joe Biden has enjoyed mostly strong approval ratings since taking office, but a new poll released by the opposing party finds that he is lacking support on one key issue.
The poll, conducted by the National Republican Congressional Committee, found that the Biden administration was receiving lower marks on border security efforts in 85 key battleground districts. The issue of protecting America’s southern border with Mexico had been one of Donald Trump’s top priorities and a major point of attack for Republicans against Biden.
Biden Struggles On Border Issues
In a poll of voters in 85 battleground Congressional districts, the NRCC found that border security was the second most important issue behind jobs and the economy. On this front, voters had a largely negative view of the way the Biden administration was handling the issue.
"President Biden’s job approval rating on this issue remains dismal (38% approve – 55% disapprove)," the poll noted. "In fact, 43% of all voters in these districts strongly disapprove of Biden’s handling of the issue (only 13% strongly approve)."
Border Efforts
As the Washington Post reported, Biden came into office vowing to transform the nation’s approach to border security. Donald Trump’s administration has been widely panned for policies that critics saw as purposely cruel, including the controversial decision to separate migrant children from their parents and place them in detention centers.
But as Biden rolled back Trump’s directives, the situation at the border grew more serious and the United States saw the biggest surge in migrants in close to 20 years, the report noted.
Responding To The Crisis
The Biden administration took a hands-on response to the surge at the border, with Biden enlisting Vice President Kamala Harris to take charge. She made a visit to the border and publicly called on migrants to turn around and go home, though the issue remained a sticky one for the Biden administration. Republicans have continued to hammer Biden on the issue, painting his approach as weak and insufficient to handle the growing number of migrants showing up at the border.
Biden’s Overall Support Remains Strong
While he may be struggling with targeted voters on some issues, Biden’s nationwide support has remained relatively strong — and very consistent. The polling analysis firm FiveThirtyEight found that his approval rating has barely budged during the first six months in office and remained above 50 percent the entire time.
"His approval has ranged from a high of 55.1 percent on March 22 to a low of 51.1 percent on July 15 — a difference of just 4 percentage points," the report noted.
