Biden approval rating ticks up to 44 percent in new survey

President Biden’s approval rating rose to 44 percent in a new Emerson College survey released on Tuesday.

The 5-point improvement in Biden’s approval rating — up from 39 percent in Emerson College’s November poll — comes as the president is reportedly preparing to launch his reelection campaign in the coming weeks.

Biden saw a particularly large boost from independents and college graduates, whose approval of the president rose by 9 points and 10 points respectively since November, according to Spencer Kimball, the executive director of Emerson College Polling.

The president also saw increased levels of support for his anticipated reelection run, with a majority of Democratic voters saying Biden should be the party's nominee in 2024.

Despite the improvement in his approval rating, Biden trailed former President Trump in a hypothetical 2024 match-up in Tuesday’s poll. While 41 percent said they would support Biden in a rematch, 44 percent said they would back Trump.

Several other recent surveys have also showed Biden’s approval rating slightly lower than the Emerson poll. A Reuters-Ipsos poll from Thursday found that Biden had a 40 percent approval rate, while a Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey from Friday showed his approval rating at 42 percent.

The president is currently facing criticism from both sides of the aisle over the recent discovery of classified documents at his former Washington office and his home in Wilmington, Del. 

Six more classified documents were found at Biden’s Wilmington home in a Friday search conducted by Justice Department officials, the president’s personal attorney said on Saturday. That marked the fourth time since November that classified documents have been found at Biden's addresses.  

The Emerson College survey was conducted from Jan. 19 to 21 with 1,015 registered voters and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.