Joe Biden Scores Whopping 85 Percent Approval Among Those Who Watched Address to Congress
Melina Mara-Pool/Getty Images
President Joe Biden’s address to a joint session of Congress earned a whopping 85 percent approval among viewers of the speech according to a poll taken afterwards.
On Wednesday night, President Biden delivered his first speech to Congress, one which was unprecedented in a number of ways. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, there were many fewer people in attendance, and the address took place several months later than such speeches normally occur.
With those factors in mind, a CBS News/YouGov poll found near-universal approval for Biden’s speech, with 85 percent saying they approved of the speech, and even greater numbers describing the address in positive terms:
Speech viewers described the president as “Presidential, “Caring,” “Inspiring” and “Bold.”
And history was made tonight with two women seated behind the president during an address to Congress, and a big majority of those who watched felt proud to see that.
Because the poll was taken among viewers of the speech, the sample consisted of about 20 percent more Democrats than the sample from the last CBS/YouGov poll.
A CNN/SSRS poll found similar results for the content of the speech, with 73 percent saying the policies Biden described would take the country in the right direction, and also showed encouraging movement for Biden among Republicans and independents:
Among Republicans, the share saying Biden’s policies would move the country in the right direction grew from 13% pre-speech to 27% post-speech, while among independents, that percentage rose from 61% to 73%.
That perception carries through to the major issues covered in the speech. More than 8 in 10 said Biden’s proposals on the coronavirus pandemic would move in the right direction (86%), and 74% said the same about racial injustice. Around 7 in 10 said the President’s policies on the economy (72%), gun laws (70%) and taxes (70%) were steps in the right direction. Slightly fewer said the same about immigration (65%).
CNN did note that the percentage who had a “very positive” reaction was lower than for previous presidents:
The 51% who had a very positive reaction to Biden’s speech is a bit more muted than reaction to the first address from other recent presidents. Barack Obama had the strongest first outing of the last four presidents, with 68% saying they had a very positive reaction to his speech, and George W. Bush in 2001 earned a similar 66% very positive. Fewer — 57% — had a very positive reaction to Donald Trump’s 2017 address.
Like the CBS poll, CNN’s sample was more heavily Democratic than the general public, but only by 13 points, while there were 2 percent fewer Republicans.
