Biden Early Approval Ratings Better Than Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W Bush, Bill Clinton?

President Joe Biden has a higher job approval rating early in his term than any Republican president from the last 40 years. That is according to polling from multiple sources.

In a Gallup poll conducted from Jan. 21-Feb. 2, Biden's approval rating was 57%. Only 37% disapproved and 6% had no opinion.

The approval rating matched George W. Bush's rating from early February 2001. Only Barack Obama's 68% in January 2009 and Bill Clinton's 58% mark in January 1993 were higher over the last 40 years.

In early 1981, Ronald Reagan had a 51% approval rating, the same as George H.W. Bush in January 1989.

Donald Trump's approval rating in January 2017 was 45%, the lowest over the same period.

However, Biden's ratings did move to the top in one area. Showing the stark political polarization in the country, 6% of respondents said they had no opinion of Biden. That compares to 10% who answered the same way when asked about Trump in 2017 and 18% about the second Bush presidency in 2001.

The president who garnered the most indifference over the last 40 years was the elder Bush at 43%. That's followed by Reagan (36%), Clinton (22%) and Obama (21%).

Biden and Trump (45%) are the only presidents over the last four decades to have a disapproval rating of more than 25% early in their terms.

Gallup senior editor Jeffrey M. Jones wrote that the numbers could be as good as it gets for Biden's approval ratings.

"With essentially no room to improve among Democrats and early indications that Biden will struggle to get more than 10% approval from Republicans, 57% overall approval may be near the ceiling Biden can expect to receive," Jones wrote. "The key to maintaining majority approval for Biden, important for his reelection chances down the road, rests with him staying in independents' good graces."

In a more recent poll conducted by Morning Consult/Politico, Biden has a strong plus-29 rating. In a survey of 1,984 registered voters conducted Sunday and Monday, Biden received approval from 62% of respondents. Only 33% disapproved of his job performance.

Those identifying as Democrats approved of Biden at a 93% rate. Independents were at 51% and Republicans a surprisingly strong 21%.

Biden's strong support by age group came from the 73% of Generation Z respondents that approve of how he's done his job thus far. The lowest support came from the age 45-64 demographic. It was still more than half at 51%.

Another surprise came with how the results broke down by income category. Those earning more than $100,000 a year support Biden's job performance at a 67% rate. That compares to 59% of those in the $50,000-$100,000 range and 61% of those earning less than $50,000.

However, there is more pessimism about the country's direction. When asked whether the country was going in the right direction or was on the wrong track, 53% of respondents believe the U.S. is moving the wrong way. Meanwhile, 47% believe it's on the right path.

The rural-urban divide on the question was stark, as 36% of rural respondents like the direction of the country. In the urban areas, the rate was 61%.