AP-NORC poll: Low marks for Biden on economy as prices rise
A majority of Americans say they don’t blame President Joe Biden for high gasoline prices, but they’re giving his economic leadership low marks amid fears of inflation and deep pessimism about economic conditions.
About 7 in 10 Americans say the nation’s economy is in bad shape, and close to two-thirds disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. In addition, Americans are more likely to say his policies have hurt the economy than helped it.
Yet less than half say the jump in gas prices is Biden’s fault, a reflection of how the country is processing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting increase in oil costs.
The polls hints at a paradox in which the public views Biden as being in power without necessarily being in control. His hopes for a lasting economic renaissance have faded as Americans cope with higher food and energy costs. And the promise of a country no longer under the pandemic’s sway has been supplanted by the uncertainty of war in Europe.
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” said Adam Newago, 53, a truck driver from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He sees inflation as spiraling outward with higher fuel prices increasing the costs of shipping and ultimately raising prices across the broader economy.
Newago said he reluctantly voted for President Donald Trump in 2020, while his wife cast her ballot for Biden. He feels that
inflation at a 40-year high and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan have led to a “mess.”
Overall, 65% of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of the nation’s economy, including 96% of Republicans and 36% of Democrats. The overall share saying they disapprove is up from 57%
in December of 2021 and from 47% last July.
Gas prices stand above other types of inflation when it comes to the worries ordinary Americans have about price increases impacting their bottom lines. A hefty 68% said they’re very concerned about gas prices, while 59% expressed the same degree of worry about rising grocery prices.
Gas prices were high before Putin began amassing forces at the Ukrainian border, but they’ve risen since the start of the war without producing a slew of additional oil to come onto the market.
Tammy Baca, 52, who works in education in Fort Worth, Texas, said that prices at the pump are a function of the geopolitics.
“You’re going to have to suffer, you know?” said Baca, a Democrat. “It’s almost like we’re pitching in for wartime effort, without even being at war.”
Many Americans agree, with 55% saying it’s a bigger priority for the U.S. to effectively sanction Russia than to limit damage to the U.S. economy.
Shelter is the dominant expenditure in the government’s measure of inflation, but less than half of Americans — 40% — say they’re very concerned about higher than usual housing costs impacting their household finances. Another 24% are somewhat concerned.
Fifty-three percent of Americans also say they’re very concerned about higher prices for other goods and services.
Overall, Americans are more likely to say that higher than usual gas prices are more because of factors outside of Biden’s control than because of Biden’s policies, 55% to 44%.
Still, more think Biden’s policies are hurting the economy than helping it, 48% to 24%. Another 28% say they haven’t made much difference. The rejection comes after Biden steered a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package and $1 trillion infrastructure package through Congress, though his agenda on economic equity and clean energy stalled in Congress last December.