A new poll says Americans are feeling Vice President Kamala Harris over President Joe Biden – but not by much.
Released on Dec. 18, the survey, conducted by Monmouth University, shows Biden trailing at a new approval low of 34% while Harris is leading the way at 35%. For independent voters, his approval rating sits at only 24% – down close to 15 points since July 2023. The two main topics that are sinking Biden’s voter approval are immigration and inflation. Following that was Biden’s campaign
promises of a “better life” with his “Bidenomics” strategy. Sixty-nine percent of voters feel life is backtracking, while just 20% believe things are trending in the right direction.Patrick Murray of the Monmouth University Polling Institute said much of the data comes from Americans still living with high prices, post-COVID, but there is some truth to it. “The Biden administration keeps touting their infrastructure investments and a host of positive economic indicators,” Murray said.
“Those data points may be factual, but most Americans are still smarting
from higher prices caused by post-pandemic inflation. This seems to be what’s driving public opinion. There is political danger in pushing a message that basically tells people their take on their own situation is wrong.”Publicly, Harris and Biden don’t seem too worried about the low approval numbers, as their eyes are still on staying in the Oval Office. The country’s first female VP has constantly defended her boss, most recently against former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who attacked Biden’s negotiating skills at a conference.
“With all due respect, when anyone who has had the experience McCarthy just had, I don’t think he’s a judge of negotiations,” Harris said.
Biden claims he doesn’t pay much attention to the polls, either.
On Nov. 9, Biden told reporters they were reading the polls, showing he was trolling behind Trump, wrong. “I’ll give you 10 polls, eight of them I’m beating him Trump in those states, he said. “Eight of them. You guys only do two.”
But behind closed doors, a different narrative is being painted. Before the Thanksgiving holiday, Biden held a meeting with top aides to inquire what they were going to do about the numbers
. According to The Daily Mail, both Biden and First Lady Jill have been concerned for months, but since the numbers haven’t budged in weeks, things have gotten tense.