New NPR/Marist Poll: Biden Approval Bombs Over Inflation and Poor Handling of Economy

A new day, a new poll where President Biden hits a new all-time low of job approval, driven largely by concerns over rising inflation and the overall state of the economy. As consumers head into the holiday shopping season, items cost more and some are becoming more scarce, and the price of gas is up 50% since last year. In short, Americans are watching as the Biden administration stumbles to maintain any semblance of stability in the economy while it champions legislation that will have no short-term impact on improving the situation.

As it stands today, Biden is looking at a 42% approval rating in the latest numbers from the NPR/Marist poll, with the economy as the top driver and concerns over inflation putting Democrats in a terrible position heading into next year:

Biden’s approval is down to 42%, the lowest recorded in the survey since Biden took office. And a slim majority also says he hasn’t fulfilled his campaign promises.

How Americans view Biden’s job overall mirrors how they view his handling of the economy — and inflation is top of mind for voters.

When voters were asked what their top economic concerns are, inflation took the top spot (39%), followed by wages (18%), labor shortages (11%) and housing costs, unemployment and gas prices (tied at 9%).

For Republicans and independents, inflation is their chief economic concern, while for Democrats, it’s wages.

While Democrats, Republicans, and independents all share common concerns of the economy in the broad sense, they have different specific reasons for giving Biden low marks. For Democrats, it’s concern over wages, while Republicans and independents cite inflation. Labor shortages, of course, affect everyone and are a very real and present issue still causing havoc for restaurants and retailers around the country.

While the White House praises the stock market, something they derided under President Trump, Americans don’t seem to share the same enthusiasm when more of their paycheck is being eaten by gas and groceries.

It’s the main reason Biden is now underwater on the economy among Republicans and independents:

And just 42% approve of how Biden is handling the economy, while a majority — 52% — disapproves, his worst marks on the issue since taking office. His rating has dropped 6 points since September and is off from his high of 54% in April.

A slim majority of independents (51%) now disapproves of his handling of the economy as well. It’s a key group and one Biden won in the 2020 presidential election.

Sure seems like a bad time for the global health community to be making headlines over a new Covid variant, perhaps capable of defeating the current selection of available vaccines and causing havoc over the next few months. Concern over the B.1.1529 strain might be overblown, as was witnessed with similar alarm bells over other variants. Only time will tell. The nightmare scenario would be the continued push for government Covid spending, a primary driver of inflation, resulting from a variant spreading that’s worse than Delta.

At the moment, however, Biden’s lack of direction and leadership on the economy has created a situation where the uncertainty is the word of the day, and Democrats see very few avenues to get out of the ditch before the midterms next year.