The Graphic Truth: US presidents' midterm pain

The Graphic Truth: US presidents' midterm pain: presidential approval ratings after one year in US history
Ari Winkleman

Things aren't looking good for Joe Biden. And it could get worse for him a year from now, when the Democratic Party could lose control of the US Congress in the 2022 midterm election. But this dynamic isn't unique to the Biden administration. Historically, in the president's first term his party has almost always lost seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate in the midterms. What's more, the president's own approval rating also tends to take a hit as the vote nears. We compare the approval ratings of the last 10 US presidents one year before the midterm election and on the eve of the vote, as well as the number of House/Senate seats lost/won by the party in the White House at the time.

Want to get more of these graphics in your inbox? Sign up for our daily newsletter Signal here.

More from GZERO Media

- YouTube

Following a terrorist attack in Kashmir last spring, India and Pakistan, both nuclear powers, exchanged military strikes in an alarming escalation. Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Khar joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to discuss Pakistan’s perspective in the simmering conflict.

- YouTube

A military confrontation between India and Pakistan in May nearly pushed the two nuclear-armed countries to the brink of war. On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the complicated history of the India-Pakistan conflict, one of the most contentious and bitter rivalries in the world.

A combination picture shows Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with Arkhangelsk Region Governor Alexander Tsybulsky in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region, Russia July 24, 2025.
REUTERS/Leah Millis

In negotiations, the most desperate party rarely gets the best terms. As Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin meet in Alaska today to discuss ending the Ukraine War, their diverging timelines may shape what deals emerge – if any.