Americans May Not Agree on Much, but They Agree Biden Made the Right Choice

For once, American voters are in near total agreement about politics: They (almost) all agree that President Biden was right to exit the presidential race.

In the latest New York Times/Siena College poll, released on Thursday, 87 percent of registered voters approved of his decision to drop out. Only 9 percent disapproved.

Democrats and Republicans probably don’t agree for the same reasons: Republicans have generally always had negative views of the president, whereas many Democrats approved of his job performance but may have seen his exit as the most strategic path forward, or came to accept his decision once he made it.

Still, Mr. Biden’s move has reached a stratum of consensus that little in American public life can touch. We reviewed dozens of polls from the past few years, and it was hard to find anything that more people agreed on.

His exit is roughly as popular as small businesses, background checks for gun buyers and medical marijuana.

About 79 percent of American adults say there should be age limits for elected officials, making Mr. Biden’s decision, which revolved around age, more popular than age limits themselves.

What are some other things Americans have in common? A majority, but fewer than 87 percent, keep a smartphone near them during waking hours; watch fireworks on July 4; tip when getting a haircut; support same-sex marriage; care about climate change; and decorate their home over the winter holidays.

What’s more popular than Mr. Biden’s choice, per the polls? Not a lot, but tipping at a sit-down restaurant (92 percent of Americans say they do this) is. And the vast majority of employed adults (91 percent) said they were at least “somewhat” satisfied by their jobs.

In Times/Siena polling specifically, 87 percent is among the highest levels of agreement on any question in recent years. But we did find one comparable point of consensus: In a March 2024 survey, 88 percent of voters said prices for food and consumer goods were “only fair” or “poor.”

It’s not a surprising finding. Unhappiness with inflation seems to be one of the other broadly held views right now. (Pew Research Center found in May that 91 percent of Americans thought inflation was a moderately or very big problem.)

Polling suggests many voters didn’t want Mr. Biden to leave the race before he made his choice but came around to honoring his decision. In a Times/Siena poll of Pennsylvania voters two weeks ago, for example, just 46 percent of Democrats said Mr. Biden should drop out, while 48 percent said he should remain the candidate. But in this week’s poll, 91 percent of Democrats nationwide approved of his exit (as did 86 percent of Republicans and 85 percent of independents).

Mr. Biden said three weeks ago that he would quit the race only if “the Lord Almighty” told him to. In the end, a higher share of voters wound up supporting his exit than Americans who say they believe in God.

Ruth Igielnik and Christine Zhang contributed reporting.