A new report from CNN indicates that Joe Biden’s economic ratings are worse than those of former President Jimmy Carter, who is remembered as a disaster for his handling of economic issues.
While many Americans would agree with the assessment, it’s not the sort of thing you expect to read on the pages of CNN.
Harry Enten writes at CNN:
Biden’s economic ratings are worse than Carter’sPresident Joe Biden is struggling in the minds of the American public. While his approval rating is down on a slew of issues, his difficulties are perhaps most noticeable on the economy.Biden now sports the lowest net economic rating of any president at this point through their first term since at least Jimmy Carter in 1977.In the latest CNN/SSRS poll, Biden comes in with a 44% approval rating to 55% disapproval rating among registered voters on his economic performance. This makes for a -9 point net approval rating. The average of all polls taken in December is quite similar with Biden at -13 points on the economy.To put that in perspective, the average president at this point in the last 44 years (since we have been polling on the topic) had a net economic approval rating of +5 points. That means Biden’s is 18 points worse than the average.The best rating, perhaps unsurprisingly, belonged to George W. Bush following the September 11 attacks. He was at +37 points at a time when his approval ratings on all issues were high thanks to the “rally around the flag” effect.Notably, Biden’s net rating is worse than his two immediate predecessors, Barack Obama in December 2009 and Donald Trump in December 2017. Both Obama and Trump had net approval ratings on the economy of -4 points.
The Carter comparisons write themselves, don’t they?
This is exactly what Democrats don’t want to hear as we head into the 2022 midterm election season.
Kate Davidson writes at Politico:
Dems’ 2022 prospects hit with one-two blow on economyWall Street forecasters are dialing back their growth projections for next year as fading hopes for the president’s sweeping economic agenda and heightened concerns about the new Covid variant have suddenly clouded the outlook.The twin blows are coming on top of a fiscal drag that was already expected in 2022 as support from earlier economic-relief efforts has wound down. That creates even more challenges for Democrats in an election year in which they’re struggling to maintain control of Congress.“It can’t be good for Democrats’ chances in the midterms,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said of the possibility that President Joe Biden will fail to get his signature policy proposals across the finish line. “On one level, the economy is going to be growing more weakly, particularly as we head into the election, because that’s when fiscal headwinds are going to be blowing the hardest. It also makes it harder for Democrats to argue they’re getting things done.”
The problem for Biden and Democrats is that the economic reality can’t be spun. You can tell people all the things you’ve done to improve the economy, but none of that matters if people don’t see it in their day-to-day lives.
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