75 Percent of Americans Say Economy Getting Worse Under Biden: Survey

President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a joint press conference with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 26, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

An increasing number of Americans believe economic conditions are worsening under the Biden administration, according to the findings of a new Gallup survey.

Gallup polled 1,013 American adults aged 18 and over between April 3 and April 25. The survey has a margin of error of plus/minus 4 percentage points.

The survey found that 19 percent of respondents believe the economy is improving, while 75 percent believe it is worsening, compared with ratings of 23 percent and 72 percent, respectively, in March.

Meanwhile, 35 percent of adults surveyed said they have a “great deal” (10 percent) or a “fair amount” (25 percent) of confidence that President Joe Biden will do, or recommend, the right thing for the economy—figures similar to his 32 percent approval rating for handling the economy, measured in March.

The survey findings come as gas prices and overall inflation remain elevated. However, they are down slightly from the same period last year, prompting the Federal Reserve to continue aggressively raising interest rates in order to reach its 2 percent target.

While the job market remains strong, with unemployment at 3.5 percent in March, multiple U.S. companies—including Amazon, Meta, and most recently, Disney—have announced layoffs or temporary pauses to hiring to curb costs.

‘Credit Crunch’ on the Horizon

Meanwhile, the long-term impacts of the collapse of two banking giants—Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank—remain to be seen.

Speaking during an April 11 town hall event at Montana State University in Bozeman, Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, stated that it is too early to declare that there are no risks to the banking sector following the recent turmoil. However, he stressed that there are “hopeful” signs things are moving in a positive direction.

“I’m not ready to declare all clear, but there are hopeful signs that these risks are now better understood and calm is being restored,” Kashkari said.

Other top economists, including Nouriel Roubini, have taken a more skeptical stance, warning that a serious credit crunch lies ahead along with a deep recession.

Weighing heavily on the recent turmoil in the banking sector is the impending deadline to raise the national debt limit after the United States reached its technical debt limit of $31.4 trillion in January. Washington is currently in a deadlock over the debt ceiling as the nation moves closer to a possible historic default on its debt obligations.

Amid the economic volatility, Gallup’s survey found that Biden’s overall approval rating among the American public has slipped to 37 percent—the lowest Gallup has measured for him to date, although it has been in the lower range of around 40 percent for the past 19 months.

Biden Seeking Reelection

Approximately 83 percent of Democrats and 31 percent of independents said they approve of how Biden handles his job, compared to just 4 percent of Republicans.

“The reading among independents ties as his lowest for that group and represents a nine-point decline since February,” Gallup noted. “Biden’s chances of winning a second term will depend heavily on his ability to win independents’ votes.”

Biden announced this week that he will seek reelection in 2024 in a video attacking “MAGA extremists,” who he said are “lining up to take on those bedrock freedoms.”

“When I ran for president four years ago, I said we are in a battle for the soul of America. And we still are,” he said. ”The question we are facing is whether, in the years ahead, we have more freedom or less freedom, more rights or fewer.”

The president added that his administration believes “that everyone is equal, that everyone should be given a fair shot to succeed in this country.”

Former President Donald Trump, who has also announced a 2024 run for office, and vowed to roll out policies to lower inflation and taxes for Americans, took aim at Biden’s announcement during a “Make America Great Again” rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, on April 27.

“When I left office, we handed Joe Biden the fastest economic recovery ever recorded, all with no inflation,” Trump said. “He took that booming economy and promptly blew it to shreds.”