Voters think ‘Joe from Scranton’ has lost contact with his working-class roots, says pollster, as survey reveals 47 percent of Americans believe he doesn’t care about their financial health
- A poll published Wednesday found almost half of Americans believe Biden is not really concerned with their financial wellbeing
- The Monmouth University Poll surveyed 794 adults
- It found Biden’s approval rating had fallen to only 39 percent
- Pollster Patrick Murray said it suggested voters thought ‘Joe from Scranton’ had lost touch with his working-class roots
- The poll also found that while Americans liked Biden’s Build Back Better spending plans only a quarter thought that enacting it should be a priority
Almost half of Americans believe President Joe Biden is unconcerned about their financial health, according to a poll published on Wednesday, delivering more gloom for an administration hit by spiraling prices.
The Monmouth University poll found that 47 percent of adults believe the president is not looking out for the economic well-being of average Americans.
It follows weeks of dire headlines about the highest inflation in 40 years and crippling prices at the gas pump.
‘Biden’s go-to image during the campaign was ‘Joe from Scranton,'” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute
‘The public view now is he’s lost the connection to those working-class roots.’
His administration tried to shrug off rising prices last year as ‘transitory.’
But critics said they were out of touch with the pressures facing working families struggling to get by. And by the end of the year the figure for annual inflation hit seven percent.
Americans have little faith in President Biden’s commitment to protecting their pocketbooks, according to a poll published by Monmouth University on Wednesday
Annual inflation hit 7% in December, the highest 12-month increase since June 1982
Biden didn’t help himself this week when asked whether inflation was a ‘political liability.’
‘No, it’s a great asset – more inflation. What a stupid son of a bitch,’ he said in comments caught by a hot mic.
The survey of 794 adults found that only 30 percent believe Biden, 79, is ‘very concerned’ with looking out for their economic wellbeing.
At the same time, it found voters backed his huge $2.2 trillion Build Back Better social spending plan – but only one in four said enacting it should be a priority.
But there may be some comfort for Democrats in the fact that their opponents come out of the poll even worse.
While 23 percent of respondents say Democrats in Congress were very concerned with looking out for the economic health of Americans, only 20 percent saying Republicans are very concerned.
The result is that the two parties are fairly evenly balanced as the country heads into midterm elections in November, with the GOP holding a narrow lead.
The poll found that 35 percent of respondents said the party should take control of Congress, compared with 33 percent who wanted the Democrats in control.
But adding in independents leaning one way or the other gives the Republicans a 50 percent to 40 percent advantage – suggesting winning over floating voters will be crucial.
‘Republicans have a default advantage heading into the midterms,’ said Murray.
‘Simply put, they are not currently in power. Voters who don’t see much difference in the parties are going to be a key factor.
‘That means the prospect of changing the congressional majority does not necessarily translate into hope that Washington will get any better.’
Republicans have an edge in voter preference for who should control Congress, but neither party is held in particularly high esteem, according to the new poll
Like the Monmouth University poll, a Harvard CAPS/Harris survey this week found that Biden’s approval rating had dropped to 39 percent
Overall, the telephone poll found that 74 percent of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing, at a time when Republican obstruction and Democratic infighting have combined to block legislation.
Democrats fare rather worse overall, with Monmouth reporting that the number of adults identifying with the party has fallen to 26 percent, from a high of 34 percent last year.
In contrast, Republicans have swung the other way from a low of 23 percent last year to 31 percent of the population.
Meanwhile, Biden’s personal approval rating stands at 39 percent, his lowest in a Monmouth poll and in line with this week’s Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll.
Another poll suggested Biden would be beaten handily if the next presidential election were to be held today. for defeat.
The new Politico/Morning Consult poll had Biden, 79, trailing a generic GOP candidate by a margin of 37 percentage points to 46.