More than 9 in 10 American are concerned about inflation, according to a new poll.
According to the poll of more than 1,000 adults conducted by The Washington Post and ABC News between April 24-28, fully 94% of Americans were either “upset” or “concerned” about the impact of skyrocketing inflation.
The poll asked respondents: “Thinking about the current rate of inflation, meaning rising prices – is this something you are upset about, concerned about but not upset, or not concerned about?” Some 44% of adults said they were “upset” about inflation. Another 50% said they were “concerned but not upset,” and just 6% said they were not concerned.
The poll also asked respondents their opinion of how President Joe Biden was handling his job as president. Biden’s overall approval was underwater by 10 points: 42% of voters approved of Biden’s job, while 52% disapproved. Broken down by intensity, Americans had much stronger negative feelings about Biden than positive. Respondents who approved of Biden were evenly split: 21% strongly approved of Biden’s job, while 21% somewhat approved. Respondents who disapproved were much more intense: 42% of respondents strongly disapproved, while just 10% somewhat disapproved.
Biden’s approval on individual issues was significantly lower. He scored a positive approval rating on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 51% approval and 43% disapproval, but he was underwater on every other issue. Biden was five points underwater on his handling of the Russian invasion of Ukraine: 42% of respondents approved, while 47% disapproved. On job creation, 41% of Americans approved of Biden’s job, while 46% disapproved. Just 38% approved of Biden’s handling of the economy, while 57% disapproved. On the issue of inflation specifically, just 28% of Americans approved of Biden’s handling, while 68% disapproved.
The poll also asked respondents which party they trusted more on key issues, finding that Republicans had double-digit leads in trust on several key issues. On the economy, 50% of Americans said they trusted the Republican Party more, compared to 36% of people who said they trusted the Democratic Party more. A plurality of Americans, 47%, said they trusted Republicans more on crime, while 35% said they trusted Democrats more. Americans trusted Republicans to handle inflation specifically, by a massive 19-point margin: 50% of respondents favored Republicans to handle the issues, while just 31% favored Democrats. Americans also slightly favored Republicans on immigration, with 43% of adults favoring Republicans and 40% favoring Democrats.
Inflation continues to be at the top of Americans’ minds as prices continue to climb across the country. Consumer inflation rose 8.5% annually between March 2021 and March 2022, the highest in 41 years. Wholesale inflation rose by an even greater rate year-over-year, soaring 11.5% annually in March, and achieving the highest producer inflation rate on record. The Federal Reserve’s favored measure of inflation, the Personal Consumption Index, rose 6.6% annually, also another 40-year record.
Meanwhile, Biden’s approval rating has continued to fall. Multiple polls have shown that Biden’s approval has sunk to around 40%, and he dropped to the lowest approval ratings of his presidency in two polls earlier this month. What’s worse for Biden, his approval has also collapsed among key demographics. A Gallup report found that Biden’s approval dropped by 19 points among millenials and 21 points among Gen Z over the course of his presidency so far. A Harvard poll found similar results among young voters. On top of that, Quinnipiac recently found that Biden’s approval among Hispanics collapsed by a massive 43 points in the 15 months since Biden took office.
Story cited here.
