WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is plunging into the next phase of
his administration with the steady approval of a majority of Americans,
according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public
Affairs Research. The survey shows Biden is buoyed in particular by the
public’s broad backing for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

In the fourth month of his presidency, Biden’s overall approval rating
sits at 63%. When it comes to the new Democratic president’s handling of
the pandemic, 71% of Americans approve, including 47% of Republicans.

The AP-NORC poll also shows an uptick in Americans’ overall optimism
about the state of the country. Fifty-four percent say the country is on
the right track, higher than at any point in AP-NORC polls conducted
since 2017; 44% think the nation is on the wrong track.

Those positive marks have fueled the Biden White House’s confidence
coming out of the president’s first 100 days in office, a stretch in
which he secured passage of a sweeping $1.9 trillion pandemic relief
package and surged COVID-19 vaccines across the country. The U.S., which
has suffered the most virus deaths of any nation, is now viewed enviably
by much of the rest of the world for its speedy vaccination program and
robust supplies of the shots.

“We are turning a corner,” said Jeff Zients, the White House’s COVID-19
response coordinator.

The improvements have also impacted Americans’ concerns about the virus.
The AP-NORC poll shows the public’s worries about the pandemic are at
their lowest level since February 2020, when the virus was first
reaching the U.S. About half of Americans say they are at least somewhat
worried that they or a relative could be infected with the virus, down
from about 7 in 10 just a month earlier.


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* Lock up Trump and his family of grifters. *