President Joe Biden’s approval rating in a new NPR/Marist survey has hit a new low amid rising concerns about inflation and other issues among a growing number of Americans.
The outlet reported that Biden’s approval in its survey has sunk to 42 percent, the lowest number thus far since he took office in January. In addition, a majority of respondents also say he has not fulfilled many of his campaign pledges.
NPR noted further that the manner in which Americans see Biden’s overall job performance is linked to his handling of the U.S. economy, and since inflation is top of mind for most, he gets lower numbers.
“When voters were asked what their top economic concerns are, inflation took the top spot (39%), followed by wages (18%), labor shortages (11%) and housing costs, unemployment and gas prices (tied at 9%),” NPR noted, adding that inflation is the top concern among Republicans and Independents, while wages top the concerns of Democrats.
“Regardless of strong job numbers or the soaring stock market, Americans are worried about the economy and the reason is inflation,” noted Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion.
Depending on which polling outlet is doing the asking, Biden’s numbers are better or worse than the NPR/Marist survey. For instance, earlier this week CBS News released a survey that found far more Americans — more than two-thirds (67 percent) — blame inflation on Biden.
“With many problems that present themselves, Americans nonetheless evaluate a president on how well it’s addressed once it happens. Biden gets among his lowest marks on handling inflation of all the issues tested,” the network noted in a tweet.
“The results of the poll did not bode well for Biden, with less than half of respondents approving of his handling of major issues such as race relations, the economy, immigration and inflation,” The Hill reported, citing the CBS News/YouGov survey.
“When asked about their recent shopping experiences, 82 percent of those surveyed said items are costing more than they did not long ago, while roughly two-thirds of participants said items they are looking for are often not in stock,” The Hill added.
A USAToday/Suffolk University poll from last week, however, had Biden sitting at just 38 percent approval, while the same poll had Vice President Kamala Harris with a worse rating at 28 percent.
Many Democrats are concerned that voters will take their angst and anger over the rapidly rising prices out on their party during next year’s midterms if things do not improve that much.
And to that point, many experts don’t think things will.
“I do think we’re moving into a new phase where inflation is broader and where things are going to get more intense,” Laura Rosner-Warburton, a senior economist at MarcoPolicy Perspectives, told The Wall Street Journal this month.
“Part of that reflects that [supply-chain] bottlenecks are not resolved going into the holiday season when a lot of purchases get made, and that economy is doing really well, so you have strong demand,” she noted further.
Kathy Bostjancic, the chief U.S. financial economist at Oxford Economics, also said she expects inflation to continue rising.
“The bigger picture is we’re likely to see inflation climb higher,” she said. “Things are going to get worse before they get better.”
Jon has over 30 years' worth of reporting experience, as well as an author and U.S. Army veteran. He has a BA in political science from Ashford University and an MA in national security studies/intelligence analysis from American Military University.
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