President Biden

Regardless of whom they supported in the 2020 election. 69% of adults think that Biden’s election was legitimate while 29% believe it was not legitimate.

In 2017, 57% saw Trump’s election as legitimate while 85% saw Barack Obama’s election as being legitimate. In 2001, 62% saw the election of President Bush as being legitimate.

68% believe there is no solid evidence that there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. [WP/U of Maryland 12/19/21]

(The following is based on registered voters unless indicated otherwise.)

President Biden’s job approval ratings

Date NBC WP/ABC CNN FOX QUINNIPIAC
DEC’21 xxx xxx 48/52 47/51 xxx
NOV’21 xxx xxx 45/54 xxx xxx
NOV’21 xxx 38/57 48/52 44/54 38/53
OCT’21 45/52 xxx 50/50 xxx 40/51
OCT’21 xxx xxx 50/50 xxx 40/53
SEPT’21 xxx xxx xxx 50/49 44/50
SEPT’21 xxx 44/51A 52/48 xxx xxx
AUG’21 49/48A xxx xxx 53/46 47/44
JULY’21 48/45A (CNBC) xxx xxx xxx xxx
JUNE’21 xxx xxx xxx 56/43 49/41
MAY’21 xxx xxx xxx 54/42 49/41
APR’21 51/43 52/42 52/45 54/43 48/42
Date AP-NORC ECON/YOUGOV POL/MORNCON
JAN’22 xxx 43/51 xxx
DEC’21 xxx 42/50 xxx
DEC’21 xxx 43/51 43/53
DEC’21 xxx 42/53 46/51
NOV’21 xxx 44/50 xxx
NOV’21 xxx 43/51 44/53
NOV’21 xxx 45/49 46/51
OCT’21 xxx xxx 45/52
OCT’21 xxx 42/51 46/51
OCT’21 xxx 44/49 45/52
SEPT’21 xxx 43/52 xxx
AUG’21 xxx 47/46 47/49
AUG’21 54/46 48/46 50/48
AUG’21 xxx 47/47 51/46
AUG’21 xxx 49/44 52/46
JULY’21 59/41 49/45 52/45
JULY’21 xxx 50/43 52/44
JUNE’21 55/44 52/44 53/44
  xxx 51/43 52/43
MAY’21 xxx 52/42 55/41
APR’21 63/36 A xxx xxx

As of January 1, 2022, the following is Biden’s approval rating based on Real Clear Politics:

Approval Disapproval
Over all 42.9% 53.5% 1/2/22
On the economy 40.3% 55.3% 12/21
On foreign policy 41.0% 52.5% 12/20

Gallup now does monthly or semi-monthly surveys of all adults. WW will include a periodic polling summary–Registered and Likely Voters–by FiveThirtyEight.

Gallup (All Adults) FiveThirtyEight (Reg/Likely voters)
Date Approval Disapproval Approval Disapproval
12/16/21 43% 51% 43.7% 50.7%
11/16/21 42% 55% 42.8% 51.7%
10/19/21 42% 52% 44.1% 49.9%
9/17/21 43% 53% 45.7% 48.8%
8/17/21 49% 48% 48.5% 45.9%
6/18/21 56% 42% 51.8% 42.4%
5/18/21 54% 40% 52.7% 40.7%
4/21/21 57% 40% 53.4% 40.1%
3/15/21 54% 42% 53.8% 40.2%
2/18/21 56% 40% 54.4% 37.8%

Vice President Harris has an approval/disapproval rate among adults of 41.3% approval and a disapproval rate 50.4%.


Other elected presidents’ approval ratings in December of their first year in office.

Approve  
Joe Biden 43 December 2021
Donald Trump 35 December 2017
Barack Obama 51 December 2009
George W. Bush 86 December 2001
Bill Clinton 54 December 1993
George H.W. Bush 71 December 1989
Ronald Reagan 49 December 1981
Jimmy Carter 57 December 1977
Richard Nixon 59 December 1969

Judges Nominated and Confirmed to Date

President Biden has been able to affect the federal judiciary early. This is the most Article III judicial nominees confirmed through this point in all presidencies since 1981 when Ronald Reagan appointed the same number in his first year. Going back as far as Franklin Delano Roosevelt the only President to have confirmed more judges in his first year in office was John Kennedy who had 58 judges confirmed in his first year as president.

As of December 18, 2021, 40 judges nominated by Biden have been confirmed, 11 to the Courts of Appeals, and 29 to the District Courts.

There are currently an additional 65 vacancies in Article III courts, 3 in the U.S. Courts of Appeals, 62 in the U.S. District Courts, and 2 in the in the U.S. Courts of International Trade.

President Biden has nominated an additional 31 individuals, 26 to the district, and 5 to the circuit courts, and has announced the names of two people that he plans to nominate U.S. Courts of Appeals.

Among Biden’s nominees are the first LGBTQ woman to serve on any federal circuit, the first Muslim American federal judge in history, and the first Korean American woman to serve as a federal appellate judge.

The chart below reflects the number of Article III court judges appointed by every U.S. president since Jimmy Carter.

Total Supreme Ct Appeals Ct District Ct Int’l Trade
Biden – 11 months 40 0 11 29  
Trump – 4 years 234 3 54 174 3
Obama – 8 years 325 2 55 268  
GW Bush – 8 years 325 2 62 261  
Clinton – 8 years 373 2 66 305  
GHW Bush – 4 years 192 2 42 148  
Reagan – 8 years 376 3 83 290  
Carter – 4 years 259 0 56 203

[USCourts/Wikipedia/List of federal judges appointed by Joe Biden]


There are roughly 4,000 politically appointed positions in the executive branch and independent agencies including more than 1,200 that require Senate confirmation.

The Washington Post and the Partnership for Public Service are tracking 801 of those 1200 positions.

266 have been confirmed by the Senate.
171 nominees are being considered by the Senate.
22 picks are awaiting formal nomination.
141 positions have no Biden nominee.
201 appointees are serving in termed positions or were held over from previous administrations.

Compared to nominees confirmed by this date, by recent presidents Biden is running in 3rd place; Bush – 403, Obama 383, Biden 266, Trump 238.


The following are the favorability ratings for a variety of political leaders
based on the Real Clear Politics averages for 12/21/2021.

Favorable Unfavorable
Joe Biden 42.3 52.4
Donald Trump 40.9 51.8
Kamala Harris 39.7 52.7
Nancy Pelosi 33.1 57.9
Chuck Schumer 31.2 45.6
Kevin McCarthy 23.3 42.3
Mitch McConnell 22.8 59.2