A Washington Post-ABC poll recently asked Americans about their approval of President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy and the U.S.-Mexico Border. Less than one-third of Americans approved of Biden’s handling of the two major issues. On the economy, 30% approved, 64% disapproved and 6% had no opinion. On the U.S.-Mexico border situation, 23% approved, 62% disapproved and 15% had no opinion. The poll shows declining approval for the president on both issues over the past two years. In April 2021, 52% of Americans approved of Biden’s handling of the economy and 37% approved of his handling of the border. In February of this year, Biden’s approval on the economy had dipped to 37% and approval of his border policies stood at 28%.
The poll also delved into specifics on the U.S. economy. On the overall state of the U.S. economy, 74% of poll respondents held a negative view of the economy with 42% calling the U.S. economy poor. With respect to food prices, 91% of respondents had a negative view with 55% calling food prices poor.
The poll coincides with a continued surge of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. In El Paso, Texas, more than 2,000 people have entered each day requesting asylum, leading Mayor Oscar Leeser to say his city was at “a breaking point.” At a briefing on the situation Saturday, Leeser said, “We have a broken immigration system. It’s the same thing over and over again.”
According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, August encounters with migrants at the southern border were nearing four-year highs at 232,972. Border encounters have exceeded 150,000 every month since March 2021.
