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After what's been a bleak several months politically for President Joe Biden, a new 

 finds he is seeing a significant boost in his approval ratings across the board following his State of the Union address and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"This is an unusual bounce," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which conducted the poll. "It gets him back to where he was pre-Afghanistan."

The national survey of 1,322 adults was conducted March 1 and 2 by live callers via mobile phone and landlines, following the State of the Union address. Results were weighted to reflect the demographics of the country, as shown in the U.S. Census' 2019 American Community Survey. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.8 percentage points, meaning results could be almost 4 points lower or higher.

The change is due to jumps with Democrats and independents. For example, on Ukraine, Democrats' approval of Biden went up 27 points. With independents, it went up 17 points.

Biden appears to be benefiting from a rally-around-the-Ukrainian-flag moment. A whopping 83 percent of respondents said they support the economic sanctions the U.S. and allies have leveled against Russia. That includes 8 in 10 Republicans.

More than two-thirds (69 percent) said they would still support the sanctions even if they result in higher energy prices. That includes 4 in 5 Democrats, three-quarters of independents and almost 6 in 10 Republicans.

Biden has warned that Americans, who are 

already feeling the pinch from higher prices

 resulting from inflation, will likely see higher gas prices because of the Russian invasion and resulting sanctions.

Biden continues to face challenges as well. While his rating on the economy, for example, has improved, a majority (53 percent) still disapprove of how he's handling it, and a slim majority (51 percent) think his foreign policy decisions overall have weakened America's standing on the world stage.

And Americans have various concerns about the escalating crisis in Ukraine: 

Overall, though, the State of the Union address appears to have helped Biden. During that speech, Biden was trying to strike a balance between his base, which he has been struggling with of late, and independents, a key group with which he has seen a significant decline over the past several months.

"There is a fine line," Miringoff said, "but the bottom line is Democrats came home and the nation — on the whole war in Ukraine — people are behind him." 

Politics and Government News

Domenico Montanaro

Author

After Tuesday's speech, the president saw a significant jump with Democrats and independents, as he may be seeing a rally-around-the-Ukrainian-flag moment.

Biden gets a bounce after the State of the Union, NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll shows

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