A poll released this Monday (11) by The New York Times reinforced the measure of discontent among Americans with the administration of Democrat Joe Biden.
The vehicle survey, in partnership with Siena College, indicates that only 13% of people see the country in the right direction. The number is the lowest in the series of polls since 2008, the height of the global financial crisis, at the end of the presidency of George W. Bush.
According to the NYT, the feeling of pessimism is widespread, when analyzing the clippings by region of the country, age, skin color and party preference. A recent survey by the Ipsos institute had a similar result, with 71% of Americans saying they thought the country was headed in the wrong direction.
Two other data from the NYT/Siena survey show the internal crisis faced by Biden, who, in 18 months in office, had relatively little progress in Congress, saw the Supreme Court give a series of adverse decisions for its platforms and failed to solve the main problem. of the country today, inflation.
The first is the approval rate for his term, of just 33% – the average of national surveys last week was 38.9%, the lowest figure recorded since the beginning of the administration. Even considering Biden’s supporters, the rate is said to be lower than normal, close to 70%, and among those who see themselves as independents, two-thirds disapprove of the president.
The second is the rate of Democratic voters who want to see the president running for re-election in 2024: just 26%. Another 64% expect the party to have another name in the race for office, possibly against Republican Donald Trump.
Now 79, Biden has already said he intends to seek a second term. According to the poll, his age is the main reason Democratic voters prefer an alternative: 33% cite the issue, one percentage point more than those who point to the president’s poor performance.
“I want younger blood. I’m tired of old people running the country, I don’t want [no poder] someone with their foot in the grave,” teacher Nicole Farrier, 38, from East Tawas (Michigan), who voted for Biden in 2020 and now expresses concerns about the rising cost of living, told the American newspaper.
“I used to have a comfortable lifestyle, but I’ve moved into a situation where I can’t afford practically anything anymore.”
According to the survey, 20% of people see unemployment and the economy as the main problems in the US today, just ahead of inflation and the cost of living (15%). Considering this scenario, in which still 75% of Americans said that the economy is an “extremely important” topic, only 1% classify the situation in the sector as excellent in the Biden administration.
The most striking evidence of this is the rise in prices, currently in the range of 8.6% per year and especially noticeable at gas stations: gasoline costs, on average, US$ 5 (R$ 26.6) a gallon, when in January the average was US$ 3.40 (R$ 18).
Returning to the list of the country’s main problems, 10% point to the state of democracy and political polarization, the same index of those who see gun policies as the biggest debate in the country.
The United States comes from a series of shootings, in schools, hospitals and festivities, and Biden has reinforced his position as a spokesman in defense of greater control over access to weapons – although the issue has historically faced fierce opposition from Republicans, some advances have been achieved in recent weeks.
Biden’s delicate situation is especially worrying for the Democratic Party when it remembers that in November there will be elections for the renewal of Congress. The most recent projections indicate the chance of a broad Republican victory.
An analysis by the statistics website FiveThirtyEight shows that Republicans have an 87% chance of winning a majority and taking control of the House, and a 55% chance of doing the same in the Senate.
The NYT/Siena poll polled 849 US voters nationwide between July 5th and 7th. The margin of error is 4.1 points.
