Democrat President Joe Biden acknowledged during remarks this week that the U.S. was struggling as his poll numbers continue to plummet and the overwhelming majority of the country, including the vast majority of Democrats, now say that the nation is headed in the wrong direction under Biden’s leadership.
“Our economy is growing but not without pain,” Biden claimed, even though the U.S. economy shrank 1.6% in the first quarter and fears of a recession seemingly grow bigger every week.
“Liberty is under assault — assault both here and abroad,” he continued. “In recent days, there’s been reason to think that this country is moving backward, that freedom is being reduced, that rights we assumed were protected are no longer. A reminder that we remain in an ongoing battle for the soul of America, as we have for over 200 years.”
Biden’s remarks come after a recent Associated Press-NORC poll found that strong bipartisan majorities of Americans disapprove of the country’s direction.
“Most Americans, 85%, say the country is headed in the wrong direction,” the report said. “A majority of Republicans have been unhappy with the direction of the country since Biden’s election. Democrats had been positive about how things were going, but now 78% say the country is headed in the wrong direction.”
The report specified that 92% of Republicans say that the country is headed in the wrong direction, and 85% of independents agreed.
The poll, which comes as Biden’s approval rating sank to a historic-low 30% in a separate survey this week, follows decades-high inflation rates, record gas prices, seemingly never-ending crises, and an economy that is poorly rated across the board.
“Seventy-nine percent of adults consider the national economy to be in poor condition,” the report added. “The increasingly negative perceptions are driven by increasing pessimism among Democrats. A year ago, 37% of Democrats and 68% of Republicans described the national economy as poor. In the latest survey, 67% of Democrats say national economy is poor, and 90% of Republicans say the same.”
The abysmal numbers for Biden come as a separate survey from Gallup found that a record low number of Americans considered themselves “extremely proud” to be an American.
“The 38% of U.S. adults who say they are ‘extremely proud’ to be American is the lowest in Gallup’s trend, which began in 2001,” the report said. “Republicans’ pride in being American has consistently outpaced Democrats’ and independents’ since 2001 and does so today. However, Republicans’ extreme national pride (58%) is now at its lowest point in the trend. Independents’ extreme pride, at 34%, is likewise the lowest on record for the group.”
“After hitting a 22% low point in 2019, Democrats’ extreme pride rose to 31% in 2021 at the start of Joe Biden’s presidency, but it is down this year to 26%,” the report continued. “All three major party groups show double-digit declines in pride compared with 2013, with Democrats’ 30-point decline the largest.”