Biden receives ‘unusual’ poll bounce after State of the Union

Approval jumps are common, but not by 8 points.
Joe Biden delivers his second State of the Union address, Mar. 1, 2022

President Biden's approval rating sharply increased after his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, a rise one pollster leading the survey called "unusual" considering its sheer size.

A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey found Biden’s approval at 47%, compared to 39% in the group's opinion polls last month. 

The eight-point spike was an "unusual bounce," said Marist Institute for Public Opinion Director Lee Miringoff.

He also said the rise "gets him back to where he was pre-Afghanistan," referring to the U.S. troop withdraw in that country in August 2021 in which 13 American service members were killed.

In the poll, Biden saw similar jumps in specific approval categories, receiving eight-point boosts in his handling of the economy and COVID-19 pandemic. 

The spikes were driven almost entirely by Democrats and Independents respondents, though Republicans recorded an increase in approval for the president.