Nearly 3/4 of Americans think the US is headed in the WRONG direction under Biden

Nearly three-quarters of Americans think the United States is heading in the wrong direction under President Joe Biden, according to yet another bad poll for the president ahead of the midterm elections.

Despite grappling with low favorability ratings for much of his first term already, Biden’s popularity experienced a deep downturn in recent months amid growing pessimism over the economy.

Now, a whopping 74 percent of Americans say the country is on the wrong track, while just 21 percent feel the nation is headed in the right direction, according to a new survey from NBC News. 

It found more than half of the respondents — 58 percent — feel ‘more worried that America’s best years may already be behind us,’ with just 35 percent thinking the best years are yet to come.

Among their main concerns, according to the poll, was the economy — with 68 percent of respondents believing the United States is already in a recession, despite Biden’s attestations that the economy is rebounding after the country’s inflation rate hit a 40-year high in June. 

In total, the poll found, 55 percent of Americans now disapprove of the job the president is doing, while just 42 percent approve.

That spells bad news for the president as he seeks to energize his base to cast ballots for a Democrat-controlled Congress in November.

A new NBC poll shows that more than half of Americans disapprove of President Joe Biden’s job performance while in office

Nearly 3/4 of those surveyed said that the United States is now heading in the wrong direction

Nearly 3/4 of those surveyed said that the United States is now heading in the wrong direction

The economy continued to be a major concern for the 1,000 Americans surveyed by NBC News from August 12 through 16.

Over the past few months, inflation has consistently eclipsed the healthy 3.6 percent unemployment rate as a focal point for Americans, who are dealing with particularly sharp spikes in gasoline and food prices.

The average cost of consumer goods rose to 8.5 percent in July, after reaching a 40-year high of 9.1 percent in June.

Householders are now spending nearly $493 more each month to buy the same items they were buying a year ago, according to Moody’s Analytics economist Mark Zandi, who studied the latest U.S. government price data.

He called it a ‘big deal for a household making about $60,000 per year’. The median household income in the U.S. is $67,521. 

The situation has since forced more Americans to seek help at food, with Feeding America, a national charity, reporting that 45 percent of food banks have seen an increase in demand, typically with 10 percent more beneficiaries asking for help.

Now, the survey shows, 56 percent of Americans disapprove of the president’s handling of the economy, while 40 percent still seem optimistic.

And when asked their thoughts on the newly-passed Inflation Reduction Act, a plurality of voters, 36 percent, reported thinking the legislation will not make a difference in their lives, while another 35 percent reported thinking it would make things worse for them personally.

Just 26 percent of those surveyed said they thought the new law would be beneficial to them.

One of the major concerns for those polled was the economy, with 56 percent saying they disapprove of Biden's handling of the economy

One of the major concerns for those polled was the economy, with 56 percent saying they disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy

Sixty-eight percent of the 1,000 Americans surveyed said they believe the United States is already in a recession despite the president's attestations

Sixty-eight percent of the 1,000 Americans surveyed said they believe the United States is already in a recession despite the president’s attestations

 The Inflation Reduction Act, with a total of $437 billion in spending, could see some households find savings as it reduces the cost of prescription drugs for the elderly, extends health insurance subsidies and reduces energy prices.

But whether it will really lower the nation’s inflation rate has come into question over recent weeks.

The Congressional Budget Office found that ‘enacting the bill would have a negligible effect on inflation,’ and the University of Pennsylvania found ‘the impact on inflation is statistically indistinguishable from zero.’

It will, however, lower the deficit by an estimated $300 billion over the next decade, and some argue a lower deficit means lower inflation.

Jason Furman, who was an economic adviser to President Barack Obama, wrote in The Wall Street Journal: ‘Deficit reduction is almost always inflation-reducing.’ 

An Associated Press fact check found that ‘in theory, lower deficits can reduce inflation. That’s because lower government spending or higher taxes, which help shrink the deficit, reduce demand in the economy, thereby easing pressure on companies to raise prices.’

When asked about the affects of the Inflation Reduction Act, the majority of respondents said it either won't make a difference or will make things worse for them

When asked about the affects of the Inflation Reduction Act, the majority of respondents said it either won’t make a difference or will make things worse for them

The president is now scheduled to promote the Inflation Reduction Act at the White House on September 6.

Cabinet members will also travel to 23 states on over 35 trips to tout the legislation along with other Biden victories, which include signing burn pits legislation and the CHIPS Act into law, killing al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, and gas prices falling under $4.

The travel, being called the Building A Better America Tour, will continue this fall into the run up to the November election.

Biden has previously claimed that the decline in his popularity was due to the increase in gas prices that began a year ago.

He said that prices shot up further with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. But he rejected claims by Republican lawmakers and some major economists that his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package from last year contributed to inflation, noting that price increases were a global phenomenon.

‘We’re in a stronger position than any nation in the world to overcome this inflation,’ Biden said. ‘If it’s my fault, why is it the case in every other major industrial country in the world that inflation is higher?’

Biden's approval rating has been slowly falling for months amid concerns of the economy

Biden’s approval rating has been slowly falling for months amid concerns of the economy

But it seems like Americans have been disenchanted with Biden for months.

The president’s average approval rating dipped below 50 percent in mid-August, according to poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight. 

His disapproval rating exceeded that threshold in late October. 

Republicans, meanwhile, are touting a series of internal polls that show the several competitive House races are moving their way and the GOP is favored to win back control of the lower chamber.

But the Senate is tougher slog for Republicans and could remain in Democratic hands. 

The FiveThirtyEight’s polling average for the generic ballot in the 2022 election has Democrats an Republicans essentially tied at 43.8 percent  to 43.4 percent.   

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