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Joe Biden is unpopular. His approval ratings are low and remain well below 40 percent. The American president’s biggest problem: In one central point, the population perceives him to be worse than his policies actually are: the economy. A president is always directly associated with the economic situation – whether rightly or wrongly.
Actually, the numbers speak for Biden. The US economy is doing well. Despite aggressive interest rate policy, the USA has not slipped into a recession; inflation has fallen below three percent and it is increasingly likely that the desired goal of a so-called soft landing can be achieved.
Abstract numbers are not enough
The labor market is also developing much better than expected: the unemployment rate has been consistently below four percent for as long as it was in the 1960s, and hundreds of thousands of new jobs are being created every month. Many people who work in low-wage segments have also benefited from higher minimum wages and better social benefits since January 1st.
But a large part of the population is less interested in abstract numbers and more interested in how expensive life is. The prices for gasoline and food have fallen significantly again last year, but purchasing power is still lower than it was before the pandemic and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
As a guardian of democracy in the election campaign
But perhaps Biden is not advertising enough about his successes in economic policy. In his speech, which ushered in the 2024 election campaign, he appeared quite aggressive. However, he focused on wanting to defend democracy. Biden also has to deal with foreign policy more than he would like and he faces unresolved problems with illegal immigration.
Added to this is his age, Joe Biden is 81 years old, a negative factor that weighs heavily when it comes to popularity. Although the age difference to Donald Trump is only around three and a half years, Biden appears significantly older. He can’t change age. Still, time might just be working for Biden.
It is still almost a year until the presidential election. The economic prospects are good and experience shows that a good economic situation is often only perceived by the population with a delay. Purchasing power remains an important and, for many, a decisive electoral argument in the presidential election.