(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A new poll revealed that the majority of Americans have a negative view of the ethics of “top Biden administration officials,” marking a concerning start to President Joe Biden’s tenure in office and potentially marring his nascent re-election bid embroiled in scandal and corruption.
According to Gallup on Thursday, “just over four in 10 say these officials’ ethical standards are excellent (8%) or good (34%), whereas the majority see them as ‘not good’ (18%) or poor (37%).”
The figures mark a dip in ethics ratings compared to other administrations since former President Ronald Reagan
Specifically, Gallup reported, “the Biden administration’s 42% ethics score is just above the 37% and 38% figures recorded during Donald Trump’s administration. However, it is lower than the scores for all other presidential administrations since Ronald Reagan, which range from 50% to 74%.”
The poll noted Biden and Trump are the only presidents whose administrations have received more negative than positive reviews on ethics.
The Biden White House, along with Biden himself, has been mired in controversy after several officials violated the Hatch Act.
Most recently, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre violated federal law by repeatedly criticizing what she called “mega MAGA Republicans” ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. Similarly, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra violated the Hatch Act in April 2023 by endorsing Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif.
President Joe Biden himself has faced criticism amid accusations of political corruption and an influence peddling scheme involving his son when Biden served as vice president under the Obama administration.
Gallup highlights, “before now, the worst result was a tie, seen for Barack Obama’s administration in 2013 and George W. Bush’s in late 2005.”
The poll also shed light on the deepening political polarization in the country, as Gallup noted, “consistent partisan ratings across different measures are a hallmark of political polarization, with the president’s own party tending to rate him positively in every respect, while members of the opposing party rate him negatively.”
According to the poll, “84% of Democrats versus only 6% of Republicans say the ethics of top Biden administration officials are excellent or good.”
Furthermore, Gallup remarks, “cross-party support has been steadily dwindling on this measure from a relatively generous assessment in 1994, partly explaining Biden’s and Trump’s low ratings.”
The Gallup poll marked another negative blow to the scandal-ridden Biden administration after NBC News reported that Vice President Kamala Harris owned the highest net negative approval ratings in the history of the poll.
According to NBC News, Harris faced a negative rating of 17 points, “the lowest for any vice president in the poll’s history.”
