FILE – The driveway to President Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, seen from the press truck, Jan. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
PA
More American adults disapprove of the way President Joe Biden has handled the discovery of confidential documents at his home and former office than approve, but that has apparently had little effect on his overall approval rating, according to a new survey.
According to The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, 41% of Americans approve of Biden’s performance as president, up from 43% in December. In the new poll, 77% of Democrats approve of Biden’s performance, while 91% of Republicans disapprove. Both figures show little change from the end of the previous year.
Biden, who is due to deliver the annual State of the Union address to Congress next Tuesday, needs all the support he can muster as he strategizes his foreseeable re-election campaign and has been at pains to draw attention to his plans and his big legislative achievements rather than the discovery of the documents.
In November, Biden’s lawyers found confidential documents in a locked cabinet upon leaving his office at the Penn Biden Center, a research institute where he briefly worked shortly after his term as vice president ended. The find prompted a federal investigation, and his attorneys and the FBI later found more classified documents at his Wilmington, Delaware, home.
39% of respondents disapprove of his handling of the situation compared to 23% who approve. Another 36% say they have no opinion on the matter. Among Democrats, 44% approve, 15% disapprove, and 40% have no opinion.
The majority of Republicans, 68%, disapprove, against 6% who approve and 24% who have no opinion.
Former President Donald Trump is facing a federal investigation for his withholding hundreds of confidential documents at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, residence and his refusal to hand them over, prompting a nightly FBI raid to seize them in August.
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The survey of 1,068 adults was conducted January 26-30 with a sample taken from NORC’s AmeriSpeak probability panel, designed to be representative of the population. The margin of error is plus/minus 4.2 percentage points.
Source: El Nuevo Herald
