There is a truism in politics that it is the economy, above all else, that is the top concern among a vast majority of American voters and, good or bad, is often a primary motivator for how individual voters will vote.
In that regard, President Joe Biden and his White House team are under sustained fire over their perceived responsibility for a bad economy featuring soaring monetary inflation and high gas prices, according to a new poll from Fox News.
Strong majorities disapproved of Biden’s handling of the economy and inflation, blamed him and his policies for the inflation and gas prices, and are reportedly personally suffering the economic consequences of Biden’s presidency — none of which bodes well for him or his fellow Democrats in upcoming elections.
Biden’s negative approval rating
That Fox News poll featured 1,004 registered voters surveyed between March 18-21 with a 3 percent margin of error, with the poll questions largely focused on just the economy and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Pretty much the only good news for President Biden in that poll was that his low approval rating had ticked up a couple of points to 45 percent, though 54 percent still disapproved of the overall job that the president was doing.
Those results are slightly better than Biden’s national average approval rating, as compiled by RealClearPolitics, which currently stands at 41.1 percent approval and 53.1 percent disapproval.
The economy, inflation, and gas prices
On the issues of the economy and inflation, President Biden drew only 38 and 31 percent approval, respectively, while disapproval for those two issues was pegged at 59 percent for the economy and 66 percent for inflation.
As for the economy itself, only 26 percent said it was “excellent” or “good,” while 74 percent said it was only “fair” or “poor.” Along those lines, only 12 percent said they were “getting ahead” in the current economy while 45 percent were “holding steady” and 43 percent were “falling behind.”
Concerning inflation, 56 percent said it was not under control at all, and 67 percent reported having to make spending cuts to accommodate increased prices. Then there are gas prices, which a combined 88 percent said was a “major” or “minor” problem for them and their families, and which a combined 68 percent believe is directly due to the policies of the Biden administration.
When it comes to policies for dealing with the surging energy costs, while 75 percent favored increased renewable energy production, 74 percent also suggested increased domestic oil production, 65 percent called for additional oil and gas pipelines, and only 33 percent thought increased imports from repressive regimes like Iran and Venezuela should be tapped to ease supply shortages and drive down prices.
Biden and Congress, not Putin and Russia, are mostly to blame
The Center Square reported last week that in response to the dismal economic news on skyrocketing inflation and gas prices, Biden and his administration have repeatedly sought to blame Russian President Vladimir Putin — “Putin’s price hikes” — and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for Americans having to pay substantially more at the gas pump and grocery store.
However, it has been duly noted that price inflation and energy costs were surging long before Russian forces even began to align along Ukraine’s border, much less invaded, and that it is Biden’s domestic policies paired with Congress’ profligate spending that are mostly to blame and for which Biden and his fellow Democrats may quite likely be held accountable for come the next Election Day.