Biden Gets Low Ratings on Economy, Guns, Immigration in AP-NORC Poll
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) - As President Joe Biden begins his reelection bid, only 33% of American adults approve of his handling the economy, and 24% believe that national economic conditions are good, according to a recent poll by The Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Biden's economy is not receiving much public approval in this time of high inflation and a challenging housing market. There are also concerns over a possible default by the U.S. Government. Only 31% of Americans approve of Biden's handling on immigration and gun policy. Biden's approval rating is 40%, which is similar to his previous ratings for the last year and a quarter.
Zoie, a 24-year-old woman who doesn't identify with a political party, says her family is eager to purchase their first home, but the mortgage rate is currently at 6.9%. This goal is, for the time being, out of reach.
The woman from West Texas also expressed frustration with Biden’s handling of the gun policy, and claimed that he has failed to fulfill his campaign promise for a more fair immigration policy.
She wishes that Biden and the lawmakers in Washington did more to combat the gun violence epidemic.
Only about half of Democrats approve of his immigration and gun policies.
Mosqueda is a mother-of-two who runs a boutique in the city and wants to start her own business. She expressed her disapproval at Biden's performance by saying, "Everything feels crazy right now." My older daughter is now in school, and I am worried that the lack of gun policies could have an impact on her.
Biden is scheduled to return to the United States early on Monday after a trip to Hiroshima in Japan for the G7 annual summit, where the economic impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was at the forefront.
The Biden administration's negotiation with Republican legislators to increase the U.S. borrowing limit to prevent a U.S. default early in June, which could have a severe impact on global economic growth. Biden cancelled his scheduled stops in Papua New Guinea, Australia and other countries before departing to Japan so he could focus on debt limit negotiations.
Bob Vought is a retired manager of an auto parts warehouse in St. Petersburg Florida. He expressed his strong disapproval of Biden's handling the economy.
Vought lives off his Social Security benefits and said that inflation has taken a toll.
The Biden administration was responsible for two of the largest Social Security cost-of living adjustments in recent decades. A 5.9% increase took effect in 2020 and an 8.7% increase in 2023. Vought, however, said it's not enough for him to keep up with the rental increases at the trailer park he lives in with his father as well as the rising cost of food and basic necessities.
Vought, a Republican independent who voted for Biden's 2020 campaign, also expressed frustration at the 'out-of-control' increase in illegal border crossings.
Agents apprehended an unprecedented 2.38 million immigrants at the southern border in the budget year 2022, which ended on September.
Title 42, the Coronavirus Restrictions implemented by President Donald Trump that allowed border officials and immigration officials to stop COVID-19 spread, was implemented. Recently, the restrictions were lifted.
Title 42 denied asylum over 2.8 million time, but it had no legal consequences. This encouraged migrants to try again to enter the United States. On May 11, Border Patrol agents reverted to the immigration laws that existed before the pandemic, which imposed stiffer penalties for migrants who entered the U.S. illegally than the emergency order.
Vought, despite his frustration with Biden's performance in the 2016 presidential election, said he would probably vote again for the Democrat if Trump won the Republican nomination.
Vought stated that he agreed with about half of Trump’s policies, but he thought the man was a liar. If those two were the only candidates... I would still have to vote for Biden.
John Billman, aged 79, from Chapel Hill in North Carolina said Biden didn't receive enough credit for the passage of the $1 trillion Infrastructure Bill and the $280 billion CHIPS Act, which aims to boost the U.S. Semiconductor History, or the historically-low unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is 3.4%.
Billman, a fan of Biden, believes that the political discourse has become more toxic after the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol.
Billman stated that'since January 6, many people seem to be incredibly angry with the government. They think that the government and Biden only do bad things'. I mean, an infrastructure bill? It's not a good thing? I have intelligent relatives whom I love and respect who say that they hate Biden. I can understand that you disagree with him, but how can he be hated? It's scary.'
Biden is a disappointment on the economy, even among Democrats. 61% of Democrats approve of his performance on this issue compared to 75% overall. Democrats are even less optimistic about the state of the economy. However, they remain more likely to agree with Republicans that the country is heading in the right directions (36% vs. 7%) or rate the economy positively (41% vs. 7%).
Some Democratic respondents who approved of the president's performances said that they were confused by post-pandemic America, and what appears to be a total abandonment in Washington of bipartisanship.
Karen D'Andrea is a 64-year-old Democrat who lives in Port Lucie, Florida. She was one of millions of Americans to lose their jobs when the pandemic began. She found a job in a tech start-up, but she was laid off recently as the sector undergoes some of the biggest cost cuts since the Great Recession.
D'Andrea said, 'I believe people with the exact same mindset as myself feel that our best days are over.' She approved of Biden's performances but believed the country was moving in the wrong directions. Republicans like to claim that they want to make America once again great. I believe that things can be great now, but it will take a lot of work.
The poll was conducted between May 11 and 15, using a probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel sample, which is intended to be representative of U.S. adults. The margin of error for all respondents was plus or minus 3.4%.