Is Trump doing a better or worse job than Biden? This is what new poll says

A majority of Americans believe President Donald Trump is performing better in office than his predecessor Joe Biden, according to a new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll.

The survey, conducted on August 20–21 with a sample of 2,025 registered voters, found that 54% believe President Trump is performing better than Biden, while 46% think he is doing worse.

The poll was conducted seven months into Trump’s second term, a period marked by major policy shifts, including stricter immigration enforcement, new tariffs on several foreign nations, and the passage of a comprehensive spending package known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill.”

The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.

The poll also found that Biden had a worse net unfavorable rating than Trump. Biden had a -14 net unfavourable rating while Trump had a -2 unfavourable rating.

The poll, released on Monday, showed Trump with a 47% approval rating among voters. Another 49% of voters said they disapproved of Trump’s job as president.

This approval rating is unchanged from when the poll was last taken in July, and only up 1 percentage point since the June survey. Trump’s support remained strongest among his own party, with 83% of Republicans saying they approve of him.

Trump has really solidified his political base and is maintaining every point of it,” Mark Penn, co-Director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll and Stagwell Chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

“He is working on a lot of initiatives that will take time to pan out – but unless there is peace in one of these foreign conflicts or a clear consensus about the economy, the country will likely remain in a partisan rut,” he added.

The poll found that Trump’s job approval is highest on fighting crime in US cities (51%), immigration (50%), and returning America to its values (50%), and lowest on handling inflation (41%) and tariffs and trade policy (41%).

A majority of voters — 55% — believe Trump’s policies will lead to higher inflation, including 83% of Democrats, 33% of Republicans, and 51% of independents. Additionally, 55% say his use of tariffs is hurting the US economy.

When it comes to foreign policy, 59% of voters do not believe Trump will resolve the war in Ukraine, while 64% say he won’t be able to end the Israel-Hamas conflict — a net negative margin of 5 points.

With inputs from agencies