During remarks at the White House earlier this week, President Joe Biden attempted to downplay concerns about inflation by claiming costs on non-pandemic related items are not going up.
"When you take out the goods directly impacted by the pandemic, like cars and airplane tickets and month -- the monthly core consumer price index has -- is less than two tenths of 1 percent," Biden said from the East Room.
But unfortunately for Biden, pandemic related items include basic items like groceries and gas.
According to new polling conducted by Fox News, an overwhelming majority of Americans have faced hardship as a result of rising inflation.
While many voters (53 percent) say increases in housing costs are a financial hardship for their family, the difficulty is more widespread when it comes to higher prices for groceries (70 percent) and gas (67 percent).
About three-quarters of those with income under $50,000 say both grocery and gas prices are causing them financial hardship -- and just over half of those at the $100,000 or more income level say the same is true for them.
"The degree to which lower-income households are feeling the squeeze on food and fuel is striking, if not surprising, and highlights the risk that inflation could push families on the brink over the financial edge," says Democratic pollster Chris Anderson, who conducts the Fox News Poll with Republican counterpart Daron Shaw.
Further, government policies are catching the blame.
Most (86 percent) are concerned about inflation -- and they see lots of reasons for it. Eighty-six percent think the pandemic is responsible for rising prices, while 79 percent blame the government’s economic policies.
Politically, these numbers are major red flags for Democrats. Last week DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney warned if the 2022 election were held today, Democrats would lose the House.
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