(CNN) About half of Americans who watched President Joe Biden's address to Congress had a very positive reaction to the speech, and 71% said they walked away feeling more optimistic about the country's direction, according to a CNN Poll conducted by SSRS.
By a wide margin, speech-watchers said that Biden's policy proposals would move the country in the right direction (73%) rather than the wrong direction (27%). In a survey conducted before the speech, the same people were a bit less bullish that Biden would lead in the right direction (67% right direction, 33% wrong direction), and that movement came from the independents and Republicans who watched the speech. Among Republicans, the share saying Biden's policies would move the country in the right direction grew from 13% pre-speech to 27% post-speech, while among independents, that percentage rose from 61% to 73%.
That perception carries through to the major issues covered in the speech. More than 8 in 10 said Biden's proposals on the coronavirus pandemic would move in the right direction (86%), and 74% said the same about racial injustice. Around 7 in 10 said the President's policies on the economy (72%), gun laws (70%) and taxes (70%) were steps in the right direction. Slightly fewer said the same about immigration (65%).
And Biden's focus on those issues appeared to hit the right mark for speech-watchers. Overall, 68% said Biden has had the right priorities so far as president, while 32% said he has not paid enough attention to the most important problems.
The 51% who had a very positive reaction to Biden's speech is a bit more muted than reaction to the first address from other recent presidents. Barack Obama had the strongest first outing of the last four presidents, with 68% saying they had a very positive reaction to his speech, and George W. Bush in 2001 earned a similar 66% very positive. Fewer -- 57% -- had a very positive reaction to Donald Trump's 2017 address.
misterlakatos on April 29th, 2021 at 13:50 UTC »
Judging by the demeanor of Republicans present, I thoroughly enjoyed his speech and thought it was inspirational. I am really glad he called out trickle-down economics for the scam it is.
politicsfuckingsucks on April 29th, 2021 at 11:28 UTC »
It really was a great speech. I'd call that a pretty damn significant reaction in this hyperpartisan era.
-Rem-Lezar69 on April 29th, 2021 at 11:06 UTC »
Every time Biden shits on reagan's legacy Biden's poll numbers go up.
Keep it up Mr President!