President Joe Biden’s approval ratings have hit the lowest levels of his presidency – falling further than that of predecessors Barack Obama and Donald Trump, according to the latest CNBC All-America Economic Survey.
As Americans reel from inflation that the Biden admin first said wasn’t happening, then said was ‘transitory,’ and then said was ‘Putin’s fault’ (and not the result of trillions of dollars printed between pandemic stimmies and Democrats’ infrastructure bill), Biden’s economic approval dropped 5 points from April to just 30% – with just 6% of Republicans supporting his economic record, 25% of independents, and 58% of Democrats – a low figure for his own party, CNBC reports.
Trump’s economic approval, for comparison, bottomed out at 41%, and Obama’s at 37%.
According to the poll, 51% think Biden’s efforts to combat inflation are making no difference, 30% say they’re actually hurting, and just 12% say they’re helping.
The president’s dismal numbers come amid the worst economic outlook measures CNBC has recorded in the 15-year history of the survey.
Of the participants, 52% believe the economy will get worse over the next year, and just 22% believe it will improve. Both are survey records, and they are worse than those found during the great financial crisis. More than 6 out of 10 of those polled expect a recession in the next 12 months. Another 6% believe the country is already in one. Such levels have only been found during actual recessions.
Just 38% of the public believe their home prices will rise in the next year, the lowest since the Covid pandemic. -CNBC
The poll found that inflation was the top concern in the country, with twice as many votes as the second-highest concern; abortion – which was presented as a survey question for the first time. This was followed by crime, immigration and border security, jobs, and climate change. COVID-19 ranked last.
An aggregate of polls from RealClear Politics shows Biden’s overall approval ratings are absolutely dismal compared to Trump, albeit with a recent uptick from several weeks ago.
CNBC also found that some 65% of those polled say they’re cutting back on entertainment, including eating out and going to the movies or concerns, while 61% say they’re driving less. More than 40% of people are spending less on groceries, while 1/3 are using credit cards more oftenn. 47% of participants are taking at least four of these measures to make due.
Meanwhile, 50% of those polled say they support relaxing environmental regulations to lower prices at the pump, while 42% oppose this, and 58% favor a tax on oil company profits which would be rebated back to consumers.
And when it comes to the upcoming midterms, Americans now prefer a GOP-controlled congress by a 44% to 42% margin, though this has narrowed from a 10-point gap in the prior poll – something pollsters speculated could be due to the emergence of abortion as a major issue.