Polls Indicate Biden Exceeded Expectations in State of the Union Address

President Biden’s recent State of the Union address generated more positive than negative reactions from the public, according to new CNN and ABC News/Ipsos polls.

The Ipsos poll of 536 adults conducted March 8-9 found that while 12% believed the president performed worse than expected, 29% felt Biden performed better than expected. Another 24% said his performance met their expectations, and 35% said they did not hear, see, or read about the speech. Notably, a larger percentage of younger Americans, 49% of those 18-29 and 43% of those 30-49, said they didn’t watch it.

Despite some positive feedback, Biden’s approval ratings on major issues such as the economy, crime, and foreign policy remained largely unchanged from a previous Ipsos poll in October. However, since October, Biden’s approval rating for his handling of the abortion issue has increased from 39% to 47%. Meanwhile, the approval for his response to the conflict between Israel and Hamas has decreased from 41% to 30%.

The CNN poll conducted immediately after the address on March 7 via text messaging of 529 adults found similar results. Two-thirds of viewers who watched the speech had a positive reaction. This is down from the reaction to last year’s State of the Union address, where 72% of viewers reacted positively. One possible explanation is that this year’s more partisan address – while pleasing the Democrats’ liberal base – may have simultaneously alienated moderates or independents.

The CNN poll also found that the speech seemed to boost people’s confidence in Biden’s ability to perform the duties required for the presidency. Before the speech, 25% said they had “a lot of confidence” in Biden’s ability to carry out his duties as president, 27% said they had some confidence, and 48% said they had “no real confidence.” After the speech, the percentage of people who had a lot of confidence increased from 25% to 31%, and the percentage of people who had no confidence dropped from 48% to 41%.

Finally, the president’s prime-time address apparently bolstered Americans’ confidence in Biden’s economic and immigration policies. Before the State of the Union, 55% said they believed the administration’s economic policies would move the country in the wrong direction, while 58% said the same thing about Biden’s immigration policies. After the speech, these numbers were nearly turned upside down, with 56% saying Biden’s proposed policies on the economy would move the country in the right direction and 53% saying the same about Biden’s immigration policies.