President Obama believes that his race is a contributing factor to his low approval ratings in recent days, according to a new interview he gave to the New Yorker.
“There’s no doubt that there’s some folks who just really dislike me because they don’t like the idea of a black president,” Obama said in the interview.
But he also acknowledged that his race might also help his favorability with a different set of Americans.
“Now, the flip side of it is there are some black folks and maybe some white folks who really like me and give me the benefit of the doubt precisely because I’m a black president.”
A slight majority of Americans approved of the president’s handling of his job and about 40% disapproved this time last year as the president prepared for his second inauguration. But Obama has seen a slow and steady decline since then, and those numbers have reversed. His approval sits at 40% according to the latest Gallup tracking poll, while 52% of those polled say they disapprove of his job performance.









