. However, as with the general public, President Biden’s approval ratings among Black Americans declined over 2021. They have not recovered the highs at the beginning of his term.
It is inflation that has weighed on his ratings: Most Black Americans don’t approve of the way Mr. Biden handles inflation — and so do most Americans. Many also don’t think he is sufficiently focused on inflation.
Even though they award him net positive marks on other issues, such as handling the pandemic and the economy in general,
Black Americans who are dissatisfied with his job performance generally also disapprove his handling of inflation, among other issues.
Even though the measure has dropped over the past year, Black Americans still give Mr. Biden high marks for handling coronavirus. It’s an important indicator because Black Americans feel the virus has had a devastating impact on their communities.
For context, Mr. Biden’s approval ratings from Black Americans is slightly lower than that of Bill Clinton (72%) and much lower than that of Barack Obama (107%).
His empathy ratings have also fallen. The percentage of Americans who say that Mr. Biden cares about others like them has fallen over the past year, including Democrats both White and Black.
Only half of Black Americans feel that the president cares for people like them is what it was one year ago.
There are also some expectations that have not been met compared to one year ago. Two-thirds of Black Americans believed Mr. Biden’s policies would do more to benefit their interests — and other groups. But today, Black Americans feel that his policies have not had an impact on their particular interests. People who don’t feel he has had a positive effect on the economy or inflation are more likely to give him negative feedback.
White Democrats are more likely to feel that Mr. Biden’s policies favor Black people than Black Democrats. Black Democrats are more likely to feel that Biden hasn’t given enough attention to discrimination issues than White Democrats.
