President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address was met with a positive response from over 60% of American viewers, according to a CNN Poll conducted by SSRS. However, only 35% of the viewers reacted very positively, reflecting a pattern of broad but measured positivity seen in Biden’s previous speeches.
Comparative Analysis
In 2021, 72% of viewers reacted positively, with 34% expressing a very positive reaction, the lowest in CNN’s polling history since 1998. In 2022, the positive reaction was 71%, with 41% being very positive. Democratic viewers’ reactions were almost universally positive, with about two-thirds of independents also reacting positively. However, approximately three-quarters of Republican viewers offered a negative review, a significant increase from the previous two years.
Policy Direction
62% of viewers believe that Biden’s proposed policies will steer the US in the right direction, a notable increase from the 45% who held this belief before the speech. Over 60% of viewers expressed some level of confidence in Biden’s ability to protect American democracy and carry out his presidential duties. However, 37% of viewers expressed no real confidence in him.
Public Confidence
Post-speech, 31% of viewers expressed a high level of confidence in Biden’s ability to perform his presidential duties, a slight increase from the pre-speech survey. This increase was primarily among political independents who watched the speech. However, perceptions of Biden’s ability to perform his presidential duties did not significantly change among Democrats or Republicans.
Economic Policies
56% of viewers believe that Biden’s economic policies will move the US in the right direction, an improvement from the pre-speech survey. This shift was primarily among independents. However, the number of viewers who believe that Biden’s economic policies will move the country in the right direction has decreased compared to previous years.
Immigration Policies
53% of viewers believe that Biden’s immigration policies will move the US in the right direction, an increase from the pre-speech survey. This shift was seen among both Democrats and independents.
Abortion Rights and Foreign Aid
52% of viewers believe that Biden’s proposed policies supporting abortion rights are appropriate. 53% also believe that the level of US support Biden proposes for Israel is about right. 49% believe that Biden’s proposed levels of US aid for Ukraine are about right.
Methodology
The CNN poll was conducted via text message with 529 US adults who watched the State of the Union on Thursday. The respondents were recruited before the speech and were selected by a survey of members of the SSRS Opinion Panel, a nationally representative panel recruited using probability-based sampling techniques. The results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5.6 percentage points.