Biden's Rating at Lowest Point While 95% of Americans Concerned About Soaring Inflation, Polls Say

As concerns about 40-year-high inflation are growing in the US, with some respondents believing that the country has already plunged into recession, Joe Biden's approval rating is continuing to slide fast.

95 percent of registered American voters say that inflation is a "serious issue", according to a new poll conducted by Harvard CAPS-Harris on 18-19 May. In particular, while 27% of voters believe that inflation is "somewhat serious", 68% percent insisted that the trend is "very serious".

The overall cost of gas, food, and other everyday items is soaring fast, with inflation hitting a 40-year high in the US. The consumer price index (CPI), which is a widely used gauge to track inflation, soared to 8.5% in March from a year earlier, and dropped just 0.2% in April.

President Joe Biden has repeatedly claimed that skyrocketing prices in the US are Russian President Vladimir Putin's fault. However, the plurality of voters (47%) are sure that the Biden administration is responsible for the unfolding situation, while only 25% bought into the White House's narrative.

Likewise, the perceived strength of the American economy is deemed low by respondents, with 66% of voters saying that it is "weak" and only 34% believing it is still "strong". Just 25% of Americans said that the US economy is on the right track, while 68% signalled that it is heading in the wrong direction. Furthermore, most respondents are bracing for recession: 49% of American voters said that the US would plunge into recession in 2022; 36% said that recession is already here; and only 16% hope that the country will manage to avoid it.

Researchers behind the GenForward project at the University of Chicago have also found that inflation is now the greatest concern among American voters. They forecast that the issue will play a major role in the upcoming midterm election.

"That is going [to] pretty much be the number one issue in the midterms, barring some sort of huge current event between now and November", said Vladimir Medenica, assistant professor of political science at the University of Delaware and one of the authors of the study, as quoted by The Hill. "That’s what people encounter on a day-to-day basis".

Meanwhile, Biden's approval ratings continue to slide, according to a recent Reuters-Ipsos poll. After surveying more than 1,000 adults, the researchers signalled that the president's rating had plummeted to just 36%, the lowest approval rating of his presidency. At the same time, a whopping 59% disapproved of how Joe Biden is handling his job. The dissatisfaction with the president can be observed in nearly every demographic group, according to the poll.

"Breaking down the poll by race, Biden is now underwater with both white and non-white voters: just 32% of white voters approve of Biden, while 64% disapprove; 45% of non-white voters approve of Biden, while 51% disapprove", wrote conservative media outlet The Daily Wire on 27 May. Just two years ago, African Americans were widely viewed as Biden's base.

This is not the only survey showing that Biden's approval rating has sunk under 40%: the Associated Press-NORC and IBD/TIPP found that it had slid to 39%; Monmouth University said it is just 38%; according to Big Data Poll, it stands at 37%; while according to Qunnipiac and Civiqs' estimates, it is 35% and 34%, respectively.