Fox News Poll: Negative economic and political ratings for Biden as he exits

Joe Biden ends his presidency with voters by a 30-point margin saying they have been hurt rather than helped by his economic policies.

In addition, a new Fox News national survey finds that most voters not only have negative views of the economy (77% negative) and their personal financial situation (62% negative) — they also feel things are getting worse (64%). Three-quarters say inflation has caused them financial hardship over the last six months, including about one-third who call it a "serious" hardship, and those numbers have held steady for more than two years.  

Views on the economy are in negative territory by 54 points (23% positive, 77% negative). That is worse than at the beginning of Biden’s term by 14 points, and that increase in pessimism comes a touch more from Democrats (16 points) than Republicans (13) and independents (11).

While few Democrats say Biden’s economic policies have hurt them (17%), only one-third say they helped (33%), with half saying his policies didn’t make a difference either way (50%).  

Overall, nearly three times as many say the president’s economic policies have hurt (47%) rather than helped them (17%), while one-third say no difference (35%).

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Big picture, 68% are unhappy with the direction of the country (up 3 points since August). That small increase comes mainly from a 20-point jump in dissatisfaction among Democrats, which is mostly offset by fewer Republicans being dissatisfied by 15-points — presumably both shifts can be attributed to Trump’s re-election.  

On the whole, only 1 in 4 think history will consider Biden an above-average president. One in 3 says he will be remembered as one of the country’s worst presidents, which is a touch better than the 4 in 10 who said the same about Trump at the end of his first term. Yet, in 2020, three times as many said Trump (22%) would be remembered as "one of the country’s greatest presidents" as feel that way about Biden today (7%).

Looking ahead, 39% think the economy will get better in 2025. That’s up from 22% who felt that way a year ago. 

There is a significant partisan gap in views on the economy’s future, as Republicans (63%) are more than three times as likely as Democrats (17%) to say it will be better next year. 

"The election post-mortems have emphasized the role of the economy in shaping the outcome, and it’s obvious that bad economic vibes hurt the incumbent party," says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who helps run the Fox News Poll along with Democrat Chris Anderson. "What we’re seeing is a predictable shift toward optimism among Republicans and independents. We’ll see if Trump can sustain and perhaps even expand on that momentum with policies that lower prices and decrease taxes." 

Biden leaves office with a 41% job approval rating, just one point above his record low. Fifty-eight percent disapprove, including about 1 in 5 Democrats and most independents (76%). Disapproval is at all-time highs among voters under age 45, Hispanics and urban voters.  

Biden’s 41% approval is lower than Trump’s 47% approval at the end of his first term, former President Barack Obama’s 57% when he left office and former President Bill Clinton’s 62% approval in 2000, but higher than former President George W. Bush’s 34% approval at the end of his presidency.  

Overall, the president received his record high of 56% approval in June 2021 — one of only five times more voters than not rated him positively. His approval rating hit a record low of 40% in July 2022, November 2023 and October 2024.

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS FEEL HOPEFUL POST-ELECTION, WANT TRUMP TO FOCUS ON INFLATION

Biden ends his term with lopsided negative ratings on some key issues, as only about one-third approve of the job he’s doing on border security (31% approve-67% disapprove) and inflation (34%-64%). His marks on foreign policy are a bit better (37%-60%), but that is a record low, and he is still underwater by 23 points.  

After repeatedly promising not to, Biden granted a presidential pardon to his son, Hunter, on Dec. 1 for multiple felony convictions. Sixty-three percent of voters disapprove of the pardon — about double the share who approve (32%). Six in 10 Democrats approve, while 7 in 10 independents and 9 in 10 Republicans disapprove.

Overall, views are the same when voters are asked about Trump’s commitment to pardon people convicted for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol: 62% disapprove, 34% approve. The partisan dynamic here flips, as 9 in 10 Democrats and 7 in 10 Independents disapprove, while 6 in 10 Republicans approve.  

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Conducted Dec. 6-9 under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,015 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (125) and cellphones (699) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (191). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error associated with results among subgroup is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data. 

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Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.