52% Disapprove of President Obama’s Job Performance, 53% Disapprove of Foreign Policy Handling

Presidential Approval

The latest
Reason-Rupe national survey of 1000 adults on landlines
and cell phones finds 52 percent of Americans disapprove of
President Obama’s overall performance while 43 percent approve.
Americans are slightly less supportive of the president’s handling
of foreign policy, 53 percent disapprove and 37 percent say they
disapprove.

POLL
RESULTS HERE

Despite lackluster public support, President Obama’s approval
ratings have largely remained steady throughout 2014, which
comports withRealClearPolitics
poll aggregator of presidential approval. 2013 was a
particularly poor year for presidential favorability, with approval
going underwater approximately around the summer of 2013 coinciding
with the Department
of Justice/AP and IRS
scandals and Edward
Snowden’s NSA revelations. However, throughout 2014
favorability ratings have held steady.

Differences in presidential approval emerge across race/ethnic
groups, including 35 percent of Caucasians, 84 percent of
African-Americans, and 49 percent of Hispanics who approve of the
president. On foreign policy handling specifically, 33 percent of
Caucasians, 73 percent of African-Americans and 29 percent of
Hispanics approve.

Young people continue in their increased support for the
president, including 57 percent of 18-34 year olds who approve,
compared to 39 percent of 35-54 year olds and 37 percent of those
55+. However, on foreign policy specifically , the age gap largely
disappears with only 4 in 10 of all age groups who favor Obama’s
handling of foreign policy.

Country Direction

Continuing a decade-long trend,
the August Reason-Rupe survey finds 60 percent of Americans say the
country is heading in the “wrong direction” while only 33 percent
say the right direction. It may seem as though Americans have
always had bleak expectations. However, for much of the late 1990s
and early 2000 majorities of Americans said the country was on the
right track. It wasn’t until 2003 that the tide turned. For the
past decade, excluding a respite following the 2008 presidential
election, roughly 6 in 10 Americans have expressed concerns over
the country’s trajectory.

Congressional approval remains at abysmal levels, with only 18
percent of Americans favorable of the legislative branch’s job
performance, while 75 percent disapprove. Mirroring their
relatively increased support for the president, young Americans
18-34 are also twice (28%) as likely as older Americans (14%) to
approve of Congress.

The Reason-Rupe national telephone poll, executed
by Princeton Survey Research Associates International,
conducted live interviews with 1000 adults on cell phones (500) and
landlines (500) August 6-10, 2014. The poll’s margin of error is
+/-3.7%. Full poll results can be found here,
including poll toplines (pdf) 
and crosstabs (xls).