There continues to be a slew of problematic polls for President Joe Biden as he still insists he's seeking reelection. Many of them have to do with the economy, which along with immigration, remains a top issue. One such recent poll comes from Fox News, with a write-up highlighting how "Majorities say Biden has mostly failed on top issues." While the president fares poorly in all of the major issues voters were asked about, the economy is particularly noteworthy.
When asked if Biden "mostly succeeded" or "mostly failed," Biden's worst issue is on "Improving border security," in that 71 percent said he "mostly failed," while just 24 percent said he "mostly succeeded." Voters were also asked about Biden "Handling the economy," though, which wasn't far behind in being problematic, as 61 percent said he "mostly failed" and just 36 percent said he "mostly succeeded."
The issue is reflected in another question, though, as voters are asked about how Biden has done in "Helping working-class Americans." While we're used to hearing from the White House that the president has a plan to take care of such a demographic, including when it comes to the failure that is Bidenomics, the president isn't faring too well in that area either. Fifty-eight percent of voters believe Biden has mostly failed in this regard, while 38 percent believe he's "mostly succeeded."
Another question specific to Biden and his handling of the economy is that a plurality, at 48 percent, say Biden's policies are "hurting" them and their families. Voters are more likely to say they've made "not much difference," at 27 percent, than they are to say they "helped," at 25 percent.
The only demographics where a majority or plurality say they've been helped include Democratic men (58 percent), Democratic women (49 percent), liberals (48 percent), 2020 Biden voters (51 percent) and Biden supporters (50 percent).
InteractivePolls highlighted how not only do these numbers look bad for Biden among a wide range of demographics, but Trump's policies are more likely to have helped families. A plurality of voters, at 45 percent, said Trump's policies "helped" them.
While black voters are more likely to say that Biden's policies helped them than former and potentially future President Donald Trump's policies did, black voters were still most likely to say that Biden's policies made "not much difference," with 40 percent saying so.
Fox News Poll: (X) policies that have helped you and your family
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) March 6, 2024
Trump's policies 45%
Biden's policies 25%
—
White: Trump 49-23%
Black: Biden 36-26%
Hispanic: Trump 41-24%
Independents: Trump 32-12%
Suburban women: Trump 42-25%https://t.co/JYuuRPXnM6 pic.twitter.com/Oe5U8mFJFr
Voters also say they have less money in their pocket than they did a year ago, which the poll's write-up noted they're saying "for the third consecutive year." While 57 percent say they have less money, just 14 percent say they have more. Twenty-nine percent say they have "about the same." A plurality of Democrats, at 43 percent, say they have "about the same," but even still they're more likely to say they have less money (36 percent) in their pockets than more money (21 percent).
The poll showed even further still bad news about the economy in that a plurality, at 41 percent of voters, say it's "poor" while 32 percent say it's "only fair."
The poll's write-up also notes that not even Democrats are feeling that great about the economy, even if they are more likely than Republicans to give positive remarks. "While five times as many Democrats (48%) as Republicans (9%) give the economy positive marks, Democrats (52%) also narrowly join majorities of Republicans (92%) and independents (81%) in saying it’s in 'only fair' or 'poor' shape," the poll's write-up notes.
"When the president declares that the state of the union is strong, Americans will largely disagree, and the major source of this disagreement is the economy," Republican pollster Daron Shaw who conducts Fox News surveys with Democrat Chris Anderson, is quoted in the write-up as saying. "Despite the vehement and somewhat condescending protestations of some economists, most feel they have less money to pay their bills and buy groceries, clothing, and gas than they did a year ago."
And to think that this is actually where the president performs the "best" on. As the Fox news poll write-up mentioned:
Overall, Biden gets his best marks on the economy (yes, you read that correctly) though only 37% approve, while 62% disapprove. Larger numbers disapprove on China (35%-61%), inflation (34%-65%), the Israel-Hamas war (31%-65%), and immigration (31%-66%).
Biden’s 34% approval on inflation is a record high, up from a previous high of 31% in August 2023. On immigration, his 31% approval matches a previous low hit in November 2021.
Another "high" that's still pretty dismal is that just 26 percent of voters feel "optimistic" about the economy, which is the highest in two years, as the write-up mentions.
No matter the "high" Biden may experiencing with these numbers, the economy still represents a problem area for the president come November, especially when Trump fares so much better.
"There’s an even larger difference on the economy, where voters said Trump mostly succeeded by 20 points, while they say Biden has mostly failed by 25," the poll write-up noted.
The Fox News poll was conducted February 25-28 with 1,262 registered voters and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.