WASHINGTON (Dispatches) - An overwhelming majority of people in the United States believe the nation is headed down the wrong direction, according to a new survey.
The Monmouth University poll, released on Thursday, found 65 percent of American respondents believe the US is on wrong track, up from 56 percent two months ago.
The survey found that only 29 percent of adults said the United States is on the right track, down from 38 percent who said the same in a July poll.
Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, said the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic by the administration of President Joe Biden and the hasty U.S. retreat from Afghanistan likely contributed to the latest survey results.
“Most Americans approve of ending the war in Afghanistan, but the images of a disorderly withdrawal did not help Biden at a time when the rise in COVID cases is already unsettling the public,” Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a statement.
About 48 percent of Americans said President Biden seriously mishandled the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Biden also failed to deal with the rising COVID-19 cases, due in large part to the highly contagious delta variant and its effect on unvaccinated Americans.
The poll also showed that Biden’s approval rating dropped to 46 percent, with an equal amount disapproving of his job performance. Biden’s numbers declined among Democrats, Republicans and independents.