Biden Approval Falls to Lowest Level Since April, Finds Poll

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on his "Bidenomics" economic agenda and his Investing in America agenda at an Amtrak facility in New Castle County, Delaware, on November 6, 2023. (AFP)
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on his "Bidenomics" economic agenda and his Investing in America agenda at an Amtrak facility in New Castle County, Delaware, on November 6, 2023. (AFP)
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Biden Approval Falls to Lowest Level Since April, Finds Poll

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on his "Bidenomics" economic agenda and his Investing in America agenda at an Amtrak facility in New Castle County, Delaware, on November 6, 2023. (AFP)
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on his "Bidenomics" economic agenda and his Investing in America agenda at an Amtrak facility in New Castle County, Delaware, on November 6, 2023. (AFP)

US President Joe Biden's popularity slipped this month to its lowest level since April, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed, the latest data point raising concerns about the Democrat's re-election bid next year.

The two-day opinion poll, which ended on Saturday, showed 39% of respondents approved of Biden's performance as president, matching April's reading and down marginally from 40% in October and 42% in September. The poll had a margin of error of about three percentage points.

Biden is widely expected to face a November 2024 rematch with former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. Other recent polls have pointed to a potentially close race between the two.

The share of poll respondents who rated "war and foreign conflicts" the No. 1 problem rose to 8% in November from 4% in October, a sign of unease over a sharp escalation in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

It was the highest measure of concern about war since April 2022, when 9% of respondents cited it as their top concern during the early months of the Russia-Ukraine war.

A larger share - 20% - said the economy was the top concern. By comparison, 9% cited crime and 7% cited the environment.

Biden's public approval rating has held below 50% since August 2021, and this month's rating was close to the lowest levels of his presidency - 36% - seen in mid-2022.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll gathered responses online from 1,019 adults, using a nationally representative sample.



Al Shabaab Captures Strategic Somalia Town as it Presses Offensive

Vehicles of the Somali special police forces are parked during a handover ceremony in Mogadishu, Somalia, 14 April 2025. EPA/SAID YUSUF WARSAME
Vehicles of the Somali special police forces are parked during a handover ceremony in Mogadishu, Somalia, 14 April 2025. EPA/SAID YUSUF WARSAME
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Al Shabaab Captures Strategic Somalia Town as it Presses Offensive

Vehicles of the Somali special police forces are parked during a handover ceremony in Mogadishu, Somalia, 14 April 2025. EPA/SAID YUSUF WARSAME
Vehicles of the Somali special police forces are parked during a handover ceremony in Mogadishu, Somalia, 14 April 2025. EPA/SAID YUSUF WARSAME

Al Shabaab fighters captured a town in central Somalia on Wednesday that government forces had been using as a staging area to drive back an offensive by the militants that has gained ground in recent weeks, residents and soldiers said.
Advances by the al Qaeda affiliate, which included briefly capturing villages within 50 km (30 miles) of Mogadishu last month, have left residents of the capital on edge as rumors swirl that al Shabaab could target the city.
The army has recaptured those villages, but al Shabaab continues to advance in the countryside, leading the government to deploy police officers and prison guards to support the military, soldiers have told Reuters.
Six residents and three soldiers said al Shabaab seized the town of Adan Yabaal, which lies around 245 km (150 miles) north of Mogadishu, in heavy fighting on Wednesday.
"After many hours of fighting we made a tactical retreat," said Aden Ismail, a military officer who transported injured soldiers to the nearby Hiiraan region.
The army and allied clan militias have been using Adan Yabaal as an operating base for raids against al Shabaab.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who hails from the area, visited the town last month to meet with military commanders there about sending reinforcements.
"If al Shabaab captures one town, that does not mean they overpowered us," Mohamud said in a speech on Wednesday, without directly naming the town. "There is a big difference between a war and a battle."
Al Shabaab said in a statement that its forces had overrun 10 military installations during Wednesday's fighting.
"After early morning prayers, we heard a deafening explosion, then gunfire," Fatuma Nur, a mother of four, told Reuters by telephone from Adan Yabaal. "Al Shabaab attacked us from two directions."
National government officials were either not reachable or did not respond to requests for comment.
The fighting comes as the future of international security support to Somalia has grown increasingly precarious.
A new African Union peacekeeping mission replaced a larger force at the start of the year, but its funding is uncertain, with the United States opposed to a plan to transition to a UN financing model.