As Townhall has been following, gas prices have spiked to new highs since President Joe Biden took office. Last month, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin and oil companies for America's rising gas prices amid Russia’s full-scale invasion into Ukraine. Poll results unveiled this week show how many Americans feel the same.
A new ABC/Ipsos poll published Sunday found that 71 percent of Americans blame Putin for the increase in gas prices. Sixty-eight percent blame oil companies.
Along party lines, 52 percent of Americans also blame Democratic policies and 51 percent blame Biden. One-third of Americans blamed Republican policies and 24 percent blamed former President Donald Trump for escalating gas prices.
“Democrats have pointed to Russia's invasion of Ukraine as the source of the rise in gas prices, with President Joe Biden coining it ‘Putin's price hike,’ while Republicans have argued that Biden's energy policies are to blame,” the write-up stated.
“Although the public appears open to Democratic arguments, they are more likely to place a ‘great deal’ or a ‘good amount’ of blame for the price increases on Democratic party policies,” it added.
Broken down by political party, 93 percent of Republicans and 41 percent of Democrats disapprove of Biden’s handling of gas prices. Overall, 68 percent disapprove of Biden’s handling of gas prices.
This week, as Spencer covered, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that total inflation hit 8.5 percent in March, making it a 40-year record high.
“Pain at the pump is considered to be one of several big political challenges facing Democrats this year,” ABC noted.
“The poll found greater enthusiasm among Republicans, with 55% saying they are ‘very enthusiastic’ about voting compared to only 35% of Democrats -- setting the stage for a challenging election year for Democrats, who will need to increase the intensity on their side of the aisle.”
The ABC/Ipsos poll was conducted between April 8-9 among a random group of 530 adults with a 4.9% margin of error.