Don’t worry, they said, Biden’s temporarily bad approval ratings will only last as long as this “transitory” inflation. That was back in September of 2021, when inflation was ugly, but not yet quite as ugly as it still is today in May of 2022. The numbers for Joe Biden keep getting worse as more and more Democrats turn on this administration that has itself turned on the American people.
The latest Monmouth numbers are best observed in graphical form:
The 38 percent approval is a new low in Monmouth just as the 57 percent disapproval is a new high. Biden’s going in the wrong direction. He’s riding the “down escalator” as famed Bush advisor Karl Rove once described it. He’ll have little blips and upticks here and there, but the general trend is going down as small slices of his former voting base peel away with every unfortunate turn of events.
Among the issues facing Americans that Democrats repeatedly downplay or ignore, it’s the economy, stupid:
Among typical household expenses most Americans pay, a majority (58%) say it is currently difficult for them to afford gas for their cars. Just over half also say it is difficult for them to pay grocery bills (52%), their tax bills (51%), and health care deductibles and out of pocket expenses (51%). Just under half say the same about health insurance premiums (48%) and fewer than 4 in 10 say making their mortgage or rent payment (37%) is difficult.
Looking back in time, five years ago, Americans were giving rosier marks on the economy under President Trump’s first term:
A Monmouth poll from 2017 – the year before Democrats took control of the House of Representatives – found somewhat more people saying these expenses were easy to meet and fewer saying they were difficult, with the ease of buying groceries being the starkest change (62% easy in 2017 versus 47% easy in 2022).
That’s a significant drop, and it’s a drop among more than just disgruntled Republicans mad at a Democratic administration. For numbers to hit these levels of disapproval, a sizable and growing number of independents and Democrats are deciding that Joe Biden has his eye on all the wrong things.
Among all issues facing midterm voters, abortion has ticked up, for obvious reasons, but the economy continues to be the top concern:
Abortion can only go so far as a driving force, especially once the fact that roughly half of the states will keep the practice legal sets in, in the event that Roe is overturned.
Beyond that, filling up a gas tank and putting food on the table, amid ever-rising costs, will always win the day and cut across all political lines.
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