A majority of Americans believe the Biden administration has not focused enough on the economy and inflation, and 50% say the president's first year in office has left them "frustrated," a fresh CBS/YouGov poll released Sunday showed.
According to the poll, 58% feel the Biden White House has not paid enough attention to the economy, and 65% say the same about the administration's handling of inflation.
Interestingly, 35% believe Biden has focused on the economy appropriately, and just 28% believe he has focused adequately on inflation. When asked how they feel about the Biden presidency in general, 50% answer "frustrated," 49% say "disappointed," 40% say "nervous," and only a quarter of those asked (25%) say "calm" and "satisfied."
The results of CBS News/YouGov poll to the question "Bide presidency has made you feel"
© Photo : CBS News Poll/YouGov
More to the president's first year, the poll shows that his approval rating has remained stuck in the 40s, sliding from a high of 62% in March to 44% in November, where it is currently. It showed that, except for former President Donald Trump, who received 37% approval in 2018, he had a lower approval rating after his first year in office than his six predecessors.
In 2002, former President George W. Bush had the greatest approval rating, 82%, according to CBS. However, while 55% of Americans approve of Biden's personal demeanor, 62% disapprove of his handling of the economy, and 70% disapprove of his handling of inflation.
CBS News polling noted that dating back to 1978, Biden's rating is behind Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan by a bit, and Jimmy Carter.
As for young people, while six out of ten voters under 30 voted for Biden in 2020, according to CBS, his favorable rating among Americans under 30 has plunged from 70% in February to only 42% currently, more than double the loss among other age groups.
The fact that 39% of those polled believe Biden and the Democrats are focusing on issues they "don't care about" indeed adds to their dissatisfaction. When asked what would boost their impression of Biden, 63% said bringing inflation under control, and 24% said passing his Build Back Better spending proposal. However, 76% think that passing Build Back Better would not affect their opinion of him, and 37% say that managing inflation would not.
A total of 69% of Americans blame Biden's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic on ambiguous information, 61% blame the president for advocating vaccine mandates, 47% think he was unprepared for the Omicron variant, and 43% feel the number of daily cases is not reducing fast enough.
The results of CBS News/YouGov poll to the question about the pandemic-related information from the government officials
© Photo : CBS News Poll/YouGov
All in all, Biden's approval rating for handling COVID-19 is at an all-time low, and when asked why they do not think he is doing a good job, 57% now said the information regarding the outbreak is confusing, while back in October the number was just 47%. And few people believe it is due to a lack of vaccines.
Responses to confusion about pandemic-related information and guidelines are particularly interesting in light of the fact that in a recent interview, the head of the CDC, Rochelle Walensky, admitted that correcting the credibility of her agency and the recommendations it issues can be "hard."
The poll is a nationally representative sample of 2,094 adult residents in the US, who were interviewed between January 12 and 14. The margin of error is 2.5 points.