NEW YORK, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden received heavy criticism from Americans in his handling of the economy, COVID-19 and gun violence, USA Today reported on Sunday, citing an ABC News/Ipsos poll.
USA Today said Americans have named surging inflation their top concern. According to the poll, 28 percent of Americans approved of Biden's handling of inflation, while a majority of Americans, at 69 percent, disapproved.
Biden has seen a drop in approval rates in his handling of the economic recovery, with 41 percent of Americans approving his handling in December, compared to 47 percent back in October. Disapproval rates of Biden's handling of the economy also jumped. Fifty-seven percent of Americans surveyed disapproved of his handling of the economy, compared to the 53 percent in October.
As the Omicron variant spreads across the country, resulting in renewed mask mandates, travel restrictions and a third vaccine shot, Biden took a significant hit in Americans' faith in his handling of the pandemic.
While a majority of Americans (53 percent) still approve of Biden's response, 45 percent disapprove, marking a nearly 20-percentage point drop from March, when 72 percent of Americans approved of his response.
Biden's approval rating slid in his handling of gun violence and crime, as the United States has experienced a surge in gun-related violence and deaths this year. Biden faced a 7-percentage point drop in his handling of both issues since October.
Two-thirds of Americans disapprove of Biden's handling of gun violence, while 32 percent approve, the ABC News/Ipsos poll found. And only 36 percent of Americans approve of his handling of crime while 61 percent disapprove. Both approval numbers are the lowest Biden has seen since taking office.
The poll was conducted from Dec. 10 to 11, among a random sample of 524 Americans, with a margin of error of 5 percent. Enditem
