US President Joe Biden kickstarts his time in the White House with 61% approval ratings from voters, markedly higher than his predecessor Donald Trump at the same point in their respective tenure, according to a new poll released on Monday.

 The poll was conducted by Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll, the Hill reported.

About 39% of the poll respondents said they did not like the performance of Biden in the White House, the poll showed. 

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The wide partisan divide in how people view Biden’s presidency is evident from the fact that an overwhelming majority of Democrats approve of his performance, with most Republicans disapproving.  31% of the Republicans said they approve of Biden’s handling of the presidency. 

Biden’s initial ratings are noteworthily higher than those of former president Trump at the same time of the tenure. The first Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll rating of Trump’s presidency put his approval rating at 48% in February 2017.

“Unlike Trump, President Biden is having a honeymoon along with the Democrats. The country is turning to them and giving them the opportunity to get the country vaccinated and the economy moving. It’s not the biggest of honeymoons but it’s still a real opportunity for the party and presidency to grow,”  the Hill  quoted Mark Penn, the director of the Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey, as saying.