A majority of Americans say Biden’s not focusing enough on inflation, according to dire new poll that shows 76% of voters who don’t like the president will dislike him MORE if he passes Build Back Better
- Inflation reached a 40-year high of 7% in December, Labor Dept said last week
- While a majority of Biden’s critics will be further alienated by his $1.75T Build Back Better bill, a majority also said they’d like him better if he fixed inflation
- A majority of voters surveyed don’t think he’s focused enough on the economy
- His 44 percent approval rating after his first year is lower than almost every predecessor through Ronald Reagan, except for Donald Trump
A vast majority of American voters do not think President Joe Biden has his priorities straight when it comes to record-setting inflation currently gripping the country, a dire new poll revealed on Sunday.
The agenda items the progressive president has been focused on, like his $1.75 trillion Build Back Better bill, are only pushing his critics further away, according to the survey from CBS News and YouGov.
The poll, taken January 12 to 14, shows Biden starting the year with the same lackluster approval numbers he ended the last with just 44 percent support.
It’s still an improvement from a devastating Quinnipiac poll released last week that gives him a 33 percent approval rating.
Among the majority who don’t support him, more than three-quarters — 76 percent — have said Biden’s $1.75 trillion social and climate reform package that was indefinitely stalled by centrists in his own party last month would not boost their opinion of him.
However, 63 percent of those detractors said they would like the president more if he got inflation under control.
Biden has suffered from low poll numbers for the majority of his first year in office
Among Americans who disapprove of Biden – a majority – three quarters say passing Build Back Better won’t help
But inflation and the economy remain weak points for the Biden administration across all voters
The consumer price index, which hit its highest level since June 1982, is a weak point for Biden among voters who both support him and don’t.
Across all respondents, 65 percent have said Biden is not focusing enough on inflation compared to just 28 percent who are satisfied with the attention he’s giving the issue. A measly 7 percent said he’s paying ‘too much’ attention to it.
His numbers on the general economy are similar, with 58 percent of people surveyed complaining Biden’s not focusing enough on it while 35 percent claiming he’s focused on the economy ‘the right amount.’
The Labor Department said Wednesday that the consumer price index rose 0.5 percent last month after surging 0.8 percent in November.
Biden apparently tried to highlight that slowing rate of growth as an achievement.
The increase pushed annual inflation to 7 percent in December, which is the highest level since June 1982, and up from November’s 6.8 percent annual rate.
In a statement, Biden called inflation ‘a global challenge’ and claimed the latest numbers were good news, showing the monthly rate of price increases slowed in December from the prior month.
Annual inflation hit 7% in December, the highest 12-month increase since June 1982
‘Today’s report—which shows a meaningful reduction in headline inflation over last month, with gas prices and food prices falling—demonstrates that we are making progress in slowing the rate of price increases,’ said Biden.
Nationwide, gas prices did drop 2.2 percent in December from the prior month, but remained 50 percent higher than a year ago. Food prices were up 0.5 percent on the month and 6.3 percent higher than a year ago, making it unclear what falling food prices Biden was referring to.
‘At the same time, this report underscores that we still have more work to do, with price increases still too high and squeezing family budgets,’ Biden admitted.
A labor shortage is boosting wages, sending costs higher for businesses, and chaos in the supply chain is showing little sign of easing as Omicron sidelines workers by the millions, suggesting that high inflation could persist well into 2022.
Sunday’s survey highlights Americans’ dissatisfaction with the state of the country. When compared to other presidents after their first years, Biden scores lower than nearly all of his predecessors up through Ronald Reagan.
Only Donald Trump’s 37 percent approval rating after his first year is lower.