In a poll released late Sunday by CBS News, 59% of US adults polled said they disapprove of President Joe Biden's job performance.
While much attention has been spent by politicians on both sides on the war between Israel and Hamas, just 4% of those surveyed say it's the most important issue pressing the U.S. The poll found that 27% of U.S. adults said inflation is the top issue, with immigration rating No. 2 at 20%.
Other top issues include the state of democracy, gun violence and crime.
In the same poll, 62% of Americans say the condition of the U.S. economy is fairly bad or very bad. A majority of Americans blame government spending for causing inflation.
The White House has tried to counter arguments of a poor economy with recent job numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing unemployment remaining below 4% for 21 months. It has been over five decades since the unemployment rate has remained below 4% for over 20 months.
But those arguments are countered by over two years of inflation remaining above an annual rate of 3%, according to government statistics.
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The Biden administration has also noted that in the last year, the U.S. workforce has grown by 3.7 million, while at the same time, the number of those not in the workforce dropped by about 500,000.
"Workers’ paychecks and household wealth are higher now than they were before the pandemic, after adjusting for inflation. On my watch we have achieved better growth and lower inflation than any other advanced country. A year ago, forecasters said it couldn’t be done," President Biden said.
But many Americans remain unmoved. Democratic political strategist Hank Sheinkopf said there are a number of factors working against President Biden.
"No one believes that the economy is better, it is better, but it really isn't better for an awful lot of people," he said. "Why? They don't believe it. You have two wars going on right now. You have a sense that things are out of control. You have Republicans in the Congress and every place else going after Biden every day. His age is a problem. There's a generational shift and they're just ganging up on him every day. He can't seem to get a break."
The poll comes 11 months before a presidential election that could involve a potential rematch of 2020 between President Biden and former President Donald Trump. While polls are showing a close election, there is still a lot of time for things to break for either candidate.
"There's a general sense that things are out of control, that there is too much chaos, too much crime, too much violence, too much out of control," Sheinkopf said. And the Democratic Party runs the government right now. At least from the eyes of the voters in the Senate and in the presidency, generally, the party in power pays the price when things are just not what people want to hear or what they want to see."
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