It’s incredibly risky – not to mention more than a little vain – to name things eponymously, especially when these things are major economic initiatives that affect the lives of millions.
Case in point: “Bidenomics”.
A new poll released recently shows that American voters in swing states are choosing former president Donald Trump over president Joe Biden – never mind that the primaries have yet to even start and each party’s nominees have not yet been named – over what they feel is Biden’s mismanagement of the U.S. economy.
Results of the poll, conducted by Bloomberg News and Morning Consult, show Biden behind Trump by 4 percentage points among voters in general, but the president’s numbers are much bleaker among Independents.
Among the 1,323 self-identified independent voters located across seven states, the poll shows Biden trailing behind his predecessor by as much as 10 percentage points in mock ballots that include third-party candidates. When pitted head-to-head, Biden fares only a little better, still lagging behind Trump by 8 percentage points.
Biden only leads Trump – and only by a mere 3 percentage points, in Nevada. In other swing states – Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Pensylvania – Biden is behind Trump by 5, 4, 4, 2, and 1 percentage points, respectively. The two are tied in Michigan.
The results of the poll also show that one of the major factors behind Biden’s poor showing is his (mis)management of the U.S. economy. His “Bidenomics” initiative seems to be falling flat – at least among voters in swing states, who say they prefer Trump’s economic policies over Biden’s.
Among swing state voters, only 35% say they trust Biden on the economy, as opposed to the 49% that say they trust Trump’s handling of the economy.
Among Independents, Biden again fares much poorer, with only 25% saying they trust Bidenomics and 45% saying that Trump did better with the economy.
Bidenomics is a bad business
Aside from the overly simplistic premise that “Trump is bad,” the Biden re-election campaign has touted the supposed successes of Bidenomics as means to entice voters to choose Biden again in what is likely to be another presidential showdown against Trump.
“When I took office, the pandemic was raging and our economy was reeling, supply chains were broken, millions of people unemployed, hundreds of thousands of small businesses on the verge of closing after so many had already closed. Today, the U.S. has had the highest economic growth rate, leading the world economies since the pandemic.” Biden said in a statement earlier this year.
However, observers point to the poor timing of the termination of pandemic aid programs to coincide with a time when interest rates, energy and fuel costs, prices of goods and services, and other cost-of-living expenses were all on the rise. The result? More Americans reported being in financial distress.
The constant citing of economic numbers and the other purported achievements of Bidenomics come off as tone-deaf to many average Americans, who are hard-pressed to feel the benefits of the president’s economic strategy. For they feel the constant price hikes at the pump, higher food insecurity, and higher prices of goods, services and other commodities – things that Americans are likely to feel even more acutely as the holiday season approaches.
Tim Ramos has written for various publications, corporations, and organizations – covering everything from finance, politics, travel, entertainment, and sports – in Asia and the U.S. for more than 10 years.
