US president Joe Biden's popularity was near its lowest level of his presidency this month, a sign of the challenges ahead for his re-election bid next year, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The three-day opinion poll, which closed on Sunday, showed 40 per cent of respondents approved of Mr Biden's performance as president, a marginal increase from 39 per cent in November. The poll had a margin of error of about three percentage points.
Mr Biden is widely expected to face a November 2024 rematch with former president Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. Other recent polls have pointed to a potentially close race between the two.
The poll showed that Americans see the economy, crime and immigration as the biggest problems facing the country - all issues on which Mr Trump and other Republicans have criticised Mr Biden. Nineteen percent of poll respondents rated the economy as the top issue, while 11 per cent pointed to immigration and 10 per cent signalled out crime.
Mr Biden's public approval rating has held below 50 per cent since August 2021, and this month's rating remained close to the lowest levels of his presidency - 36 per cent - seen in mid-2022.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll gathered responses online from 1,017 adults, using a nationally representative sample.
