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WASHINGTON — As President Joe Biden begins his re-election campaign, only 33% of American adults say they approve of his handling of the economy, and just 24% say national economic conditions are in good shape, according to a new poll by The Associated Press state. NORC Center for Public Affairs.
Public approval of Biden’s handling of the economy remains low amid high inflation, a troubled housing market and concerns about a possible US government default. American opinion is also gloomy about Biden’s efforts on gun policy and immigration, with just 31% saying they approve of the president’s performance on these important issues. Overall, 40% say they approve of the way Biden is doing his job, similar to his approval rating over the past year and a half.
Zoie Mosqueda, 24, who does not affiliate with any political party, said her family is ready to buy their first home, but with the average mortgage rate hovering around 6.9%, that goal is out of reach, at least for now.
The West Texas woman said she was also frustrated with Biden’s handling of gun policy and said he had failed on his campaign promise to implement fairer immigration policies.
A recent spate of mass shootings across the country, including this month’s Allen, Texas, mall shooting that killed eight victims and injured seven others, has left her wanting Biden and lawmakers in Washington to do more would do to combat the scourge of gun violence.
Even among Democrats, only about half approve of his handling of immigration and gun policies, according to the poll.
“Everything feels a little crazy in this economy right now,” Mosqueda, a mother of two who works in a boutique and wants to open her own business, said of her disapproval of Biden’s performance. “My older daughter is in school now and my only concern is that this lack of gun laws could affect her.”
Biden was due to return early Monday from a visit to Hiroshima, Japan, for the annual G7 summit, which focused on the global economic impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The summit came in the shadow of the Biden administration’s negotiations with Republican lawmakers to increase US borrowing powers to avoid an early June default that could have a severe impact on the global economy. Before leaving for Japan, Biden canceled planned stops in Papua New Guinea and Australia so he could return to the US and focus on debt ceiling negotiations.
“It would be a total disaster for the country if they didn’t agree to do something,” said Bob Vought, a retired auto parts warehouse manager in St. Petersburg, Fla. He said he strongly disapproved of Biden’s handling of the economy.
Vought, who lives on his Social Security benefits, said inflation was taking a toll on his personal finances.
The Biden administration oversaw two of the larger Social Security cost-of-living adjustments in recent decades, with a 5.9% increase that went into effect in 2022 and an 8.7% increase in 2023. But Vought said , saying that’s not enough to keep up with a rent increase at the trailer park where he lives with his father and the rising cost of groceries and other basic needs.
Vought, an independent who normally votes Republican but voted Biden in 2020, said he was also frustrated by the “runaway” surge in illegal migrant crossings at the US southern border.
In fiscal year 2022, which ended in September, agents on the southern border arrested a record 2.38 million immigrants.
The coronavirus restrictions introduced under President Donald Trump, known as Title 42, allowed border officials to turn migrants away in a bid to stop the spread of COVID-19. The restrictions have recently been lifted.
While Title 42 has been used to deny asylum more than 2.8 million times, it has had no legal consequences, encouraging repeated attempts by migrants to enter the United States. Border patrol officials reverted to pre-pandemic immigration laws on May 11, which provide harsher penalties for migrants entering the U.S. without permits than did the Public Health Emergency Ordinance.
Despite his frustration with Biden, Vought said he would likely vote for the Democrat again if Trump won the Republican nomination.
“I agree about half of Trump’s policies, but I think the guy is a liar and so arrogant,” Vought said. “If those were the only two candidates … I would still have to vote for Biden.”
John Billman, 79, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, said Biden doesn’t get enough credit for passing the $1 trillion infrastructure bill and $280 billion CHIPS bill aimed at boosting America’s history of semiconductors, or the historically low unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is 3.4%,
Billman, who endorses Biden’s performance, said he feels the political discussion has become even more toxic since the Jan. 6, 2021, US Capitol riot.
“Since January 6, so many seem incredibly angry with the government and think the government and Biden are only doing bad things,” Billman said. “I mean an infrastructure law? It’s a bad thing? I have relatives that I respect and love who are intelligent people who say, “I hate Biden.” I can understand disagreeing with him, but how can you hate Biden? Its scary.”
Even among Democrats, Biden fares worse on the economy: 61% agree with him on that issue, compared to 75% for his job overall. Democrats are even more dissatisfied with the current state of the country’s economy, although they remain more likely than Republicans to say the country is going in the right direction (36% vs. 7%) or rate the economy as good (41) . % vs. 7%).
Some Democratic respondents who approve of the president’s achievement said they felt confused about life in post-pandemic America and what often seems like a total departure from bipartisanship in Washington.
Karen D’Andrea, 64, a Democrat from Port Lucie, Fla., was among the millions of Americans who lost their jobs early in the pandemic. She was able to get a new job at a tech startup but was recently fired as the sector is experiencing some of the biggest cost cuts since the Great Recession.
“I think people with the same attitude as me feel like our best days are behind us,” said D’Andrea, who approves of Biden’s performance but believes the country is moving in the wrong direction. “Republicans like to say they want to make America great again. I think things can be wonderful now, but we have to work together.”
The survey of 1,680 adults was conducted May 11-15 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is intended to be representative of the US population. The sampling error rate is plus/minus 3.4 percentage points for all respondents.
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