Hours before the final State of the Union address of President Obama’s career, a majority of Americans disapprove of the way the current commander-in-chief is handling his job.
According to an NBC News/Survey Monkey poll released Tuesday morning, 54 percent of U.S. adults disapprove of the way Obama is doing his job as president while 45 percent approve.
Furthermore, a plurality of Americans say they "strongly" disapprove of Obama’s handling of his job, with 42 percent of respondents saying so. Only 22 percent "somewhat" approve of the president and 23 percent "strongly" approve.
Obama’s approval ratings have appeared to decline as terrorism fears increased following the deadly Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, according to a review of weekly data collected by Gallup. Indeed, terrorism remains a top concern among Americans following the coordinated bombings and shootings in France and the Dec. 2 terror attack in San Bernardino, California.
When asked what issue matters most to them, respondents were most likely to list jobs and the economy (28 percent) and terrorism (23 percent) as top concerns.
The poll, which was conducted between Jan. 4 and 10, comes just as Obama prepares to address the nation in his final State of the Union speech. Obama is expected to focus on his purported accomplishments during the speech, including the Iran nuclear deal and Obamacare, according to a preview released by the White House.
The preview does not make mention of international terrorism or the president’s campaign to fight ISIS, the terror group Obama once described as a "JV team" that now controls large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks in Paris and is also believed to have inspired the gun attack in San Bernardino.