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Joe Biden is currently near the lowest approval rating of his tenure as President of the United States; his meager 33% approval is setting him up for a difficult re-election battle this November.
In an unfortunate rebuttal to Biden, a new USA Today poll shows over 60% of 18-34 year-olds disapprove or strongly disapprove of the president’s job performance. Even worse for the president, his support is fraying among black and Hispanic voters, causing many Democrats to worry that their once stable coalition is disintegrating in the face of poor leadership.
So, why are young voters so turned off by President Biden? The answer, in short, is that they perceive him to be insufficiently competent and insufficiently progressive.
The president’s already low approval rating took a mild dip over the past few months due, in part, to young American’s overwhelming disapproval of Israel’s defensive war against Hamas. Almost half of young voters side with the Palestinians over Israel and believe that there is essentially no difference between Joe Biden and a Republican on this issue. Biden’s natural instinct is to support Israel, especially in a time of war, but this does not sit well with his young constituents, who believe Israel is an occupying force committing genocide against Palestinians.
Gen Z is also turning on President Biden because of their divergent views on climate change. Statistically, young voters are the most concerned group in the country about rising temperatures and how the changing climate will impact their future.
In 2022, Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was the single most substantial investment in clean energy in United States history. However, young Americans are unhappy with specific provisions in the bill, claiming it does not go far enough in mitigating carbon-emitting power sources. In particular, they cite the Willow Project, an oil-drilling project greenlit by the Biden Administration, as a major barrier to achieving their green energy goals due the vast amounts of pollution they claim it is emitting.
Young voters typically desire sweeping change on important issues. The president’s conciliatory approach to policy, on the other hand, leaves them frustrated and angry.
However, Joe Biden may not need to be concerned about alienating his younger supporters.
First, young voters are notoriously one of the least reliable voting blocs when it comes to actually showing up on election day. For the past several decades, voters aged 18 to 29 typically participate in elections at around a 50% rate. Voters over the age of 40, and especially over 65, on the other hand, are the most important group to please in American politics, as they show up to the polls in the highest numbers.
Second, Joe Biden’s opponent in the November general election will likely be former President Donald Trump, who is almost equally as unpopular among young Americans. Though many of these voters may disapprove of Biden, one should not expect a large cohort of them to break for the Republican.
Ultimately, President Biden is swiftly losing support among young voters due not only to their feeling of betrayal from his broken campaign promises and rage over Israel’s continued war in Gaza but also their own lack of interest, with less than half of 18- to 29-year olds even planning to vote in the 2024 election.
Brandon Goldman is the Chief Development Officer for American Daily Press and is based outside of Boston, MA