Poll: Biden leads Republican candidates in favorability despite low approval rating

GRINNELL, Iowa (KCRG) - Grinnell College released a new national poll Wednesday gauging views on the Biden administration and Republicans, who may, or may not, have started their bid for the White House.

The poll found President Biden’s approval rating sitting at 39 percent.

“It’s the highest approval rating we’ve ever measured for the president, but still quite low by historic standards,” said Grinnell College National Poll Director Peter Hanson. “He is not operating from a position of strength heading into 2024.”

However, Biden’s favorability is at 44 percent, which is still higher than former President Donald Trump (38 percent), Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (38 percent), former Vice President Mike Pence (35 percent), and former Governor Nikki Haley (25 percent).

Among Republicans, Trump has the highest favorability, at 80 percent, compared to DeSantis at 76 percent.

The poll also addressed several issues related to schools.

It found 57 percent of Americans say it’s inappropriate for public school teachers to speak about politics in the classroom.

When it comes to which books belong in a middle school library, more Americans (62 percent) share a concern that materials valuable to students will be removed from school libraries, rather than the possibility that harmful materials will remain (30 percent of respondents).

When asked about the role elected officials should play in deciding what materials should be in school libraries, only 17 percent said state officials should have a big part.

“We find that Americans want decisions about materials in school libraries to be made locally by school librarians, families, school boards, and students themselves,” Hanson said.

The national poll surveyed more than 1,000 Americans ages 18 and older between March 14 and March 19. See the full results of the poll here.

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