US President Joe Biden addresses his hosts upon his arrival in Israel at Ben Gurion Airport in Lod near Tel Aviv on July 13, 2022.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
President Joe Biden’s overall and economic approval ratings have hit their lowest levels since his presidency and have fallen more than those of his two predecessors, according to CNBC’s latest All-America Economic Survey.
As Americans felt crushed under the weight of rising prices, Biden’s economic approval fell 5 points from the previous survey in April to just 30%. The president’s economic performance is supported by just 6% of Republicans, 25% of independents and 58% of Democrats, very low numbers for his own party.
By comparison, President Donald Trump’s economic approval reached 41% and President Barack Obama’s 37%.
Biden’s approval rating for his overall handling of the presidency reached 36%, 1 point below Trump’s worst rating. Among survey participants, 57% disapprove of Biden’s conduct as president.
The poll of 800 people across the country found that 51 percent believe the president’s efforts to fight inflation don’t matter, and 30 percent think they actually do harm. Only 12% say they help. The survey, conducted from July 7 to 10, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.
Unstable economic outlook
The president’s dismal numbers come amid the worst measures of the economic outlook recorded by CNBC in the survey’s 15-year history.
Of the participants, 52% believe the economy will get worse in the coming year, while only 22% think it will improve. Both are survey data and are worse than those found during the Great Financial Crisis. More than 6 in 10 respondents expect a recession in the next 12 months. Another 6% believe that the country is already in one. Such levels have only been found during actual recessions.
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CNBC All America Economic Survey
Just 38% of the public believe their house prices will rise in the next year, the lowest since the Covid pandemic.
The poll found inflation to be the nation’s biggest issue, garnering twice as many votes as the next answer: abortion, which was featured as a survey option for the first time. This was followed by crime, immigration and border security, jobs and climate change. The coronavirus, which led the list for most of the past few years, ranked last.
Taking steps to stretch the dollar
Americans are using a variety of means to make ends meet amid high inflation.
About 65% of those surveyed said they were cutting back on entertainment, such as eating out or going to the movies and concerts. Among participants, 61% reported driving less and 54% said they were cutting back on trips. More than 4 in 10 are spending less on groceries. A third use credit cards more often, which can mean higher interest payments if they don’t pay off balances. The survey found that 47 percent of participants said they take at least four of these measures.
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CNBC All America Economic Survey
With gas prices high, 50% of the public say they support easing environmental rules to ease gas station prices, with 42% opposed and 58% in favor of taxing oil company profits returned to consumers.
There are upcoming congressional elections
When it comes to pocketbook issues, the survey found that Republicans have a decisive lead in the upcoming congressional elections. But the question is whether other issues, such as climate change and abortion, could give Democrats a boost.
Those polled who say immigration and border security, jobs and, most importantly, the cost of living are their top concerns, overwhelmingly favor Republican control of Congress. For example, those most worried about jobs favor GOP control by a margin of 54% to 31%. Those most concerned about the cost of living favor GOP control of Congress by 47% to 38%. However, abortion ranked as the second biggest concern, and those respondents favored Democratic control of Congress 67% to 24%.
Americans overall favor Republican control of Congress by a 44 percent to 42 percent margin, but that’s actually down from the 10-point margin in the previous poll. Both Republicans and Democrats on the survey said this could be attributed in part to the emergence of abortion as a major issue, although both were skeptical that it could have had a significant impact on the result.
It remains to be seen whether the intensity of abortion or other social problems will remain in place until November and whether inflation will continue to be the leading concern.
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