Most Americans believe they’re worse off since President Joe Biden took office.
A Financial Times-Michigan Ross poll of 1,000 registered voters conducted May 2-6 finds that Biden’s approval ratings on the economy have slumped following a “slight uplift” in April, adding “to the sense that the Biden administration’s messaging on the economy … is not convincing voters.”
“The survey suggests that Bidenomics, a set of policies primarily aimed at providing green manufacturing jobs and rebuilding the US’s creaking infrastructure, plays badly as a brand,” according to the financial news site. “Just 28 percent of respondents said they thought the US president’s economic policies had helped America, compared with 49 percent who thought they had made things worse.”
A whopping 51% told pollsters they’re worse off now than when Biden became president.
Data from the monthly poll of about 1,000 registered voters shows the percentage that believe Biden’s policies have hurt the economy a lot – 35% – is now at its highest level since the poll began in November 2023.
The Washington Examiner cited the RT-Michigan Ross poll as one reason why former President Donald Trump “has proven stubbornly resilient in his swing-state leads over President Biden” despite ongoing court cases.
“According to the latest slate of head-to-head polling from the New York Times and Siena College, the Republican is up by 14 percentage points over the Democratic incumbent among registered voters in Nevada, 10 points in Georgia, 7 points in Michigan, 7 points in Arizona, and 3 points in Pennsylvania,” the news site reports.
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“Only in Wisconsin does Trump trail Biden by 2 points, but among likely voters, Trump actually leads by 1 in Wisconsin, yet he trails by 1 point among likely voters in Michigan. His lead persists or grows in every other state.”
A Real Clear Polling average using surveys between March 18 and May 7 shows Biden underwater by 13.9 points, with 41.2 viewing the president favorably compared to 55.1 who view him unfavorably.
The same polling average for Trump is slightly better with a 10.8 point spread. An average of 43% view Trump favorably, versus 53.5% who hold an unfavorable opinion.
The RCP average for Michigan – using polls conducted between April 8 and May 9 – puts Trump ahead of Biden by 0.8%, 46%-45.2%. The average calculated by 538 using polls since March 1 has Trump with a 0.6% lead at 41.4% to Biden’s 40.9%.
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And while the New York Times poll released on Monday gives Biden a 1% lead in Michigan among likely voters, Trump holds a 7-point lead among registered voters – 49% to 42%.
There’s also a trend emerging, according to Politico.
“The polling found Trump making significant improvements among young voters and voters of color compared to 2020, with as many voters between the ages of 18 and 29 saying they would support the former president as back Biden,” the political site reports. “Hispanic voters were also split roughly equally, while around 20 percent of Black voters across the six states indicated support for Trump.”
Politico notes the results of the New York Times poll involving nearly 4,100 voters across six swing states largely align with others from last fall, “suggesting that a rush of recent campaign developments – including Trump and Biden officially locking up their parties’ nominations, a massive Biden ad campaign in swing states, and the start of Trump’s criminal hush money trial in New York – may not have had a significant effect in the polls.”
While the FT-Michigan Ross poll may reflect the reason why, Biden officials are convinced things are going great.
“The reality is that many voters are not paying close attention to the election and have not started making up their minds – a dynamic also reflected in today’s (NYT) poll,” Biden pollster Geoff Garin told Politico. “These voters will decide this election and only the Biden campaign is doing the work to win them over.”
Jacob Sprague, a 32-year-old systems engineer in Reno, was among those voters who told the Times they are paying attention to their pocketbook, and it “doesn’t feel good.”
“It is concerning to me when I keep seeing press come out of the White House where they keep saying the economy is good,” Sprague said. “That’s really weird because I’m paying more on taxes and more on groceries and more on housing and more on fuel. So that doesn’t feel good.”
For voters like Sterling Heights, Mich. registered nurse Jennifer Wright, the decision on who to vote for comes down to one question: “Who is the best candidate who is going to help me be in a financial situation to retire?”
“Even me, as a registered nurse, I’m buying Kroger brand or store brand. I’m not buying Jif,” she told the Times. “We’ve all had to cut back.”