A new NBC poll shows that a whopping 71% of Americans believe the U.S. is on the wrong track, a number that does not bode well for the party in charge, NBC’s Chuck Todd noted.
“Just 22 percent of adults say we’re headed in the right direction,” Todd said Sunday on NBC. “A shocking 71 percent say we’re on the wrong track, and that includes a near majority of Democrats who are saying that.”
“Scary news for the Democrats,” he said.
The number of Americans who think the country is on the right track has declined 14% since April and 7% since August.
Many of those who changed their minds are Democrats. Back in April, a sizeable majority, 64% of Democrats believed the country was headed in the right direction. Now, only 41% think so.
The shock poll also seems to highlight the flagging spirits of Americans when it comes to the president and his administration.
The “overarching message” of the poll is that “Americans have lost their confidence in President Biden and their optimism for the country, at least they have right now,” Todd said.
Meanwhile, Biden’s job approval rating has continued to sink. His approval rating is now down to a dismal 42%, with 54% disapproving of the job he is currently doing, according to the NBC poll.
As recently as August, Biden’s job approval rating was much higher at 49%, with only 48% disapproving of his job performance, NBC reported.
The NBC poll also documented several other data points that might help explain Biden’s poor numbers, including Americans’ opinion on whether Biden is able to handle a crisis. Only 37% said Biden does have the ability to handle a crisis, while 47% said he does not. Similarly, 37% say Biden is competent and effective, while 50%, half of Americans say he is not.
Meanwhile, Republicans lead by double digits when it comes to which party would do a better job on a slew of issues, including border security, inflation, crime, national security, the economy, and “getting things done,” the poll found.
Democrats have smaller double-digit leads on another group of issues, including abortion, climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and education.
“And that’s really it right now,” Todd said.
One of the pollsters who conducted the survey noted how starkly opinions of Biden have changed since his first few months in office.
“Democrats face a country whose opinion of President Biden has turned sharply to the negative since April,” said Jeff Horwitt, a Democratic pollster with Hart Research Associates.
“The promise of the Biden presidency — knowledge, competence and stability in tough times — have all been called into question,” Horwitt said.
The Republican pollster who co-conducted the study with Horwitt said the poll is a warning sign.
“When you see a wrong track of 71 percent, it is a flashing red light,” said Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies. “These folks are telling us that this is not going well.”