According to the latest NBC News poll, many voters agree that former President Donald Trump’s presidency has been “better than they expected,” but they say the opposite about President Joe Biden, and they are disappointed in him. Many voters rate his term as “worse than expected.”
NBC News Asked Respondents rated both the Biden and Trump administrations. Overall, a majority of 40% rate the Trump administration as “better than expected.” A further 31% said it was “about as expected,” and 29% said it was “worse than expected.”
Biden’s ratings were far worse, with just 14% rating his administration “better than expected,” while 42% said it was “worse than expected.” Furthermore, 44% answered that it was “almost as expected.”
For Trump, these results reflect a major boost. Looking back, people seem to think more highly of his administration. When asked how they rate the 2018 administration, 29% said it was “better than expected,” compared to 40% who still think the same way. At the time, 43% said things were progressing “as expected.”
Perhaps most telling is that Biden’s low ratings stem from frustration among Democrats.
According to NBC News:
Biden’s ratings have fallen in part because of disappointment within his own party. Fifty-two percent of Democratic voters said the administration has lived up to expectations, while 30% said it has been better than expected and 18% said it has been worse than expected. President Trump has aroused fanatical loyalty among Republicans, with 80% of party members saying his administration has been better than expected, and just 6% saying it’s been worse. Additionally, 24% of Republicans said Trump’s term in office went about as expected.
Trump also performed much better among independents, with 52% saying the Biden administration was “worse than expected,” compared to 18% who said the Trump administration was “worse than expected.” . Thirty-eight percent of independents said the Trump administration did “better than expected,” but only 6% said the same about the Biden administration.
NBC News asked voters how the Biden and Trump administrations matched their expectations.
biden
Better than expected: 14%
Worse than expected: 42%playing cards
Better than expected: 40%
Worse than expected: 29%
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Biden (Indie)
Better than expected: 6%
Worse than expected: 52%… pic.twitter.com/NmJLCa7qQ9— Interactive Polls (@IAPolls2022) February 11, 2024
Those who argue that President Trump would have been better pointed to several aspects that were better: the economy, foreign policy, better jobs, and a sense of security.
The NBC News poll was conducted Jan. 26-30, 2024, among 1,000 registered voters. This has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, and is consistent with an emerging theme in the poll that Trump is ahead of Biden nationally as well as in key battleground states.
