biden
© Getty ImagesUS President Joe Biden: The halo darkens
According to a new poll, the majority of Americans are pessimistic about the direction of the country at the sixth month mark of the Biden administration, a dramatic shift from the last time that the survey polled respondents on the matter.

"A majority — 55% — of the public say they are pessimistic about the direction of the country, a marked change from the roughly one-third (36%) that said the same in an ABC News/Ipsos poll published May 2," ABC News reported. "In the early May survey, Americans were more optimistic than pessimistic by a 28-percentage point margin. Optimism is now under water by 10 points. Looking ahead to the next 12 months, fewer than half — 45% — now report feeling optimistic about the way things are going, a significant drop from about two-thirds (64%) in the May poll."

biden approval ratings July 2021
© Gallup
Other negative findings from the poll:
  • Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling immigration and the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border? Approve 37. Disapprove 61.
  • Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling gun violence? Approve 37. Disapprove 61.
  • Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling crime? Approve 39. Disapprove 58.
Another mainstream poll, Gallup, released new numbers late last week that also showed that Biden was headed in the wrong direction as he scored the lowest numbers yet of his presidency in the left-wing poll.
biden approval rating by party July 2021
© Gallup
Gallup reported:
Biden's latest job approval rating of 50% is down from 56% in June. Before this month, his ratings had not shown meaningful variation during his time in office, and the current figure marks the lowest measured for him to date.

The new rating is from a July 6-21 Gallup poll, which also finds that 45% of U.S. adults disapprove of Biden's performance and 5% do not have an opinion. It comes at a time when U.S. progress in fighting the coronavirus has stalled, with vaccination rates slowing and case levels now rising. The economic recovery continues, with unemployment declining and stock market values near record highs. But consumers are paying higher prices for gas and other goods. Biden has also struggled to deliver on his promise of greater bipartisanship, although negotiations on an infrastructure bill continue in the Senate.
Vice President Kamala Harris' favorability rating is underwater as more voters holding unfavorable views toward her than favorable views.

Newsweek reported:
Survey results from Politico/Morning Consult released on Wednesday showed that just 45 percent of respondents held a favorable view of the vice president's performance. Meanwhile, 47 percent had an unfavorable view and 5 percent said they had no opinion. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent and was conducted from July 16 to 18.

That polling aligned fairly closely with a separate survey conducted by The Economist/YouGov from July 10 to 13. In that poll, 44 percent of voters said they viewed Harris somewhat or very favorably. But nearly half (48 percent) said they had a very or somewhat unfavorable view of the vice president. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percent.