An ABC/Washington Post poll released Sunday shows that 4 in 10 respondents report they’re worse off financially since Joe Biden became president—the most reported in the 37-year history of the poll. Although ABC and especially the WaPo are usually considered to be cheerleaders for the Commander in Chief, even they had to acknowledge reality, titling the report on the poll, “Record Numbers are Worse Off, A Recipe for Political Discontent.”
I would add that the recipe has already been cooked, and the discontent is already here.
To wit, 41 percent of Americans say their finances have suffered since Biden took office in January 2021—while only 16 percent say they are better off. Count me firmly in the 41 percent group.
ABC News’s Jon Karl reports:
Karl says:
But as we mentioned, our new poll this morning with the Washington Post shows significant warning signs for Democrats. More than half of the country disapproves of Biden’s job performance weighed down by significant discontent over the economy.
Forty percent say they are worse off financially than they were two years ago, the most negative response to that question in nearly 40 years of our polling. And as Biden prepares for a likely 2024 reelection campaign, less than one third of Democratic voters want to see him renominated. Perhaps most frightening for Democrats in a hypothetical rematch of the 2020 election, Trump has a slight edge 48 to 44 within the margin of error over Biden.” [Emphasis mine.]
Biden’s approval rating continues to be awful—he’s been underwater since September 2021—and the poll shows that a meager 42 percent of respondents approve of his job performance while a humongous 53 percent disapprove.
Biden, Inc. should have learned from former President Bill Clinton’s mantra (coined by strategist James Carville): “it’s the economy, stupid.”
As my colleague Joe Cunningham reported, the poll further shows that most Democrats don’t want to see Biden run for reelection in 2024, while a majority on the Republican side aren’t excited about another Donald Trump run either:
Political fallout includes poor performance ratings for Biden and a tight hypothetical Biden/Trump rematch next year. Given disaffection with both leaders, a rerun of the 2020 presidential election is hardly enticing: Nearly six in 10 Democratic-aligned adults don’t want to see Biden renominated for the job, and half on the Republican side would rather not see Donald Trump as their party’s nominee.
On Tuesday night, Biden will take to the podium for his State of the Union speech to regale us with declarations about what a fabulous job he’s doing and how the economy is just dandy.
With this poll, however, even ABC and the Washington Post are forced to admit that most Americans won’t believe him.