Gallup's Economic Confidence Index — which "summarizes Americans' views of the economy" and their "perception of whether the economy is getting better or worse" shows that after seven months of Biden working to build back better, a majority of Americans aren't buying that idea that things are getting any better.
Americans’ confidence in the U.S. economy slipped in August, back to a level last seen in February. https://t.co/cHWf4dQbJx
— GallupNews (@GallupNews) August 28, 2021
While the nation's attention was on the unfolding chaos in Afghanistan amid President Biden's failed withdrawal in the second half of August, the DNC's "Build Back Better Bus Tour" was circling the country in an attempt to sell his massive and woke infrastructure and budget proposals.
No, Joe Biden's August did not go according to plan. What he thought would be an easy month during Congress' annual summer recess that was supposed to allow administration officials to take their first vacations since his inauguration and allow surrogates to travel the country touting his agenda turned into a chaotic string of crises. Not only did he fail in August to successfully meet his deadline of evacuating all Americans from Afghanistan, his larger agenda and campaign promises failed to take hold among the American people.
The latest release of Gallup's ECI "finds Americans are less confident in the economy because they are more likely to perceive the economy is getting worse than they were in July." In fact, Gallup found 60 percent of Americans believe the economy is getting worse — no doubt due in part to Biden's inflation-spurring actions that have Americans getting less bang for their buck:
In the latest survey, 37% of U.S. adults say the economy is getting better and 60% say it is getting worse, yielding a net -23 score for the "economic outlook" component of the index. In July, 41% believed the economy was getting better and 54% worse, for a -13 economic outlook score.
The August score on Gallup's ECI is -23, a move of 10 in the wrong direction from July's -13 economic outlook score. That is, Americans not only think the economy is in bad shape, they think it's still getting worse. Among independents, the drop was even more significant from -19 in July to -35 in August.
Economic Confidence Index from ?@Gallup? has dipped again, falling back to February’s level … still off pandemic low but also well off pre-pandemic high pic.twitter.com/WP3S6YIT8y
— Liz Ann Sonders (@LizAnnSonders) August 31, 2021
For comparison, the Economic Confidence Index was at +41 under the Trump administration just before the Wuhan coronavirus hit the country.
The harsh view toward Biden's handling of the economy comes as approval for the President's overall performance running the country continues to dive.
Biden approval rating under 46 in RCP Average for first time. https://t.co/Qq6Vf51qST pic.twitter.com/O5rYoNPZ4H
— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) September 1, 2021
So while Joe Biden, his administration, and surrogates continue to insist everything is going according to plan, Americans' willingness to buy his delusionally optimistic promises is clearly wearing thin. Ahead of the 2022 midterms, Democrats may have a tough time convincing voters that sticking with Biden and giving him the votes he needs in Congress is the way to move the country forward.