President Joe Biden goes into next year’s election with a vexing challenge: Just as the U.S. economy is getting stronger, people are still feeling horrible about it.

President Joe Biden goes into next year’s election with a vexing challenge: Just as the U.S. economy is getting stronger, people are still feeling horrible about it.

Pollsters and economists say there has never been as wide a gap between the underlying health of the economy and public perception. The divergence could be a decisive factor in whether the Democrat secures a second term next year. Republicans are seizing on the dissatisfaction to skewer Biden, while the White House is finding less success as it tries to highlight economic progress.

“Things are getting better and people think things are going to get worse — and that’s the most dangerous piece of this,” said Democratic pollster Celinda Lake, who has worked with Biden. Lake said voters no longer want to just see inflation rates fall — rather, they want an outright decline in prices, something that last happened on a large scale during the Great Depression.

  • Shalakushka@kbin.social
    254·
    11 months ago

    This seems to be the GOP strategy at this point. Do everything you can to wreck the economy and write your friends blank checks. The Democrats get elected to fix the mess. Then, you use their time spent cleaning up your mess to make the case that they are ineffective, getting you re-elected just in time to start all over again.

    • Zeppo@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      102·
      11 months ago

      Yep, they did the same this with Biden as with Bush to Obama, which is leave him with a giant pile of crap and then blame it on him. I remember the conservative troglodytes saying “omg Obama! Economy!!”, of course conveniently ignoring that the country was dealing with a major economic disaster created in the Bush years after years of Republican Congress and presidency. Pretty sure it’s on purpose at this point, like how they obstruct and massively waste time in Congress when there’s a Democratic President, then say the President didn’t get anything done. Meanwhile Trump, of course, whined that Obama had left him with a country in shambles, when in fact Obama had left him with the momentum of an economic recovery. Then Trump took credit for it. Then when Biden came in office, being handed a mismanaged mess from the Orang-utan, Republicans said “well Biden is President now so it’s his responsibility! Can’t blame it on the last guy!”