Most say Biden ‘likeable,’ Trump ‘strong’ leader: Survey

A majority of Americans describe President as “likeable” and former President Trump as a “strong and decisive leader,” according to new data from a Gallup survey.

The Gallup survey found that 57 percent of Americans think that the current president is “likeable,” down nine percent from 2020, when 66 percent of Americans said he was “likeable.” The same percentage said in 2024 that Trump is a “strong and decisive leader” in the survey, up 1 percent from 56 percent in 2020.

Despite highlighting positive qualities the current and former president rated highest on, Gallup ultimately said the data showed “American voters face a choice between two candidates they hold in low regard,” in an article from Gallup Senior Editor Jeffrey M. Jones, Ph.D.

Compared to Biden’s ratings, 37 percent of Americans described Trump as “likeable,” down 20 percent from the current president. Thirty-eight percent of Americans described Biden as a “strong and decisive leader,” down 19 percent from the former president’s ratings.

“Under normal circumstances,” Jones said, “the presidential campaign would give the candidates an opportunity to bolster their images for voters.”

While Jones didn’t dismiss it as an option for the 2024 candidates, he noted that since Biden and Trump have been in the national spotlight for some time, Americans already have well-established perceptions of the two.

“Neither Trump nor Biden was popular during his presidency, as evidenced by their generally low job approval ratings,” Jones said.

Forty-one percent of U.S. adults said they viewed Biden favorably and 42 percent said they viewed Trump favorably, according to Gallup data released in January.

Another poll from Gallup released Wednesday found roughly 30 percent of Americans said they didn’t believe the current or former president would be a good fit for the role if they win the White House in November.

According to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s national polling average, Trump currently leads Biden by 0.8 percent, at 45.3 percent compared to the current president’s 44.5 percent.

The Gallup survey was conducted between March 1 and 20, featuring a sample of 1,016 adults and a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

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