Biden's approval rating hits a dire 39% as a majority of Americans say he's not a strong leader and don't think he cares about them, new polls suggest 

• The president's latest job approval rating is a new low for Harvard/CAPS Harris, which began tracking Biden's White House approval in March 2021
• A separate poll released by Gallup on Tuesday is devastating for Biden's public image as an empathetic and compassionate leader
• A majority say he's not trustworthy and also doesn't care about people like them
• Most respondents also indicated they don't have faith in Biden leading the country through a crisis, amid turmoil between Russia and Ukraine 

President Joe Biden's approval rating hit another grim record on Tuesday with a new poll placing him with just 39 percent of voters' support.

Meanwhile a separate survey suggests the president has lost the faith of Americans who largely think he does not care about them and is a weak leader, both dire outcomes just a year after he took office.  

Biden's job approval plummeted six points from November, according to a January Harvard CAPS/Harris survey obtained by The Hill. The 39 percentage points are the lowest he's scored in Harvard's poll since it first began collecting the data in March.

His disapproval rating has climbed to 53 percent, up two points from the previous poll. 

Of those who approve of Biden's job in office, less than half say they 'strongly' support the president while most only 'somewhat' back him.

'This is a new low for President Biden as he struggles to solve a myriad of issues from the pandemic and the economy to immigration and crime that trouble the public,' said pollster Mark Penn of the survey taken January 19 and 20. 

As 40-year high inflation and the enduring coronavirus pandemic continue to wreak havoc at home, the world is also looking to Biden as an increasingly aggressive Russia threatens to shake up the world order and launch a likely deadly invasion into neighboring Ukraine.  

It does not appear that many Americans have faith in Biden navigating those issues, according to a survey Gallup also released on Tuesday.

Respondents were asked between January 3 and 16 whether a slate of characteristics applied to Biden as president, after being given the same statements in 2020.

Of those, a whopping 63 percent indicated that Biden is not a 'strong and decisive leader.' 

That's a nine-point drop from September 2020, though he still had failed to grasp a majority with only 46 percent of people surveyed indicating the same. 

Among Democrats, Biden's leadership skills still early high praise with 74 percent backing the notion, though it's a steep decline from 86 percent agreeing in 2020.

He's seen his biggest loss of confidence in the area from Independents, who were critical to his 2020 presidential victory. Among that group, then-candidate Biden was thought by 45 percent to be a 'strong and decisive leader,' while only 30 percent feel the same now.

It's relatively unchanged among Republican voters, though faith in Biden's decisiveness actually climbed from six to seven points.

But in a critical blow to his public image, now less than half of Americans think the president -- who ran on his personal capabilities for compassion and empathy -- cares about them.

Just 48 percent of respondents answered that 'cares about the needs of people like you' applies to Biden. In late 2020, the number was 55 percent. 

Similarly, Biden's 'honest and trustworthy' image took a seven percentage point-blow, from 52 to 45 percent.

However the president did have a majority of Americans finding him 'likable,' with 60 percent, and 59 percent said he was 'intelligent.'

But when push comes to shove, and as relations with Eastern Europe and China chill to historic levels, just 43 percent of respondents said Biden 'displays good judgement in a crisis' and even fewer -- 38 percent -- think he 'can manage the government effectively.'

The new Gallup survey of Biden's personal traits comes at a tenuous time in American foreign policy, though at home COVID-19 cases are beginning to drop off in some places and areas that saw infections spike in a new wave late last year are finally beginning to see some relief -- while others surge. 

Biden met with European world leaders on Monday in a hastily-announced video call to discuss the worsening situation between Russia and Ukraine. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stationed more than 100,000 troops at Ukraine's Eastern border, with US intelligence reports indicating that number could double in short order. 

He's also made aggressive moves by Moscow greenlighting its maritime forces to conduct military exercises off the coast of Ireland next month, and British intelligence has warned Putin is reportedly looking to overthrow Ukraine's leadership in a coup attempt.

While the president has stressed a diplomatic approach coupled with the threat of severe economic consequences should Russia invade, lawmakers in Congress as well as Ukraine's leaders have urged him to act now with economic sanctions and claim doing so after the fact would be useless.

He also angered allies by indicating in a press conference last week that a 'minor incursion' by the Kremlin into Ukraine may result in lesser punishment. 

Yesterday Biden ordered 8,500 US-based troops to be ready to deploy to Eastern Europe if NATO calls for them.