A whopping 94 percent of Americans describe themselves as either concerned or upset about inflation, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
According to the poll conducted from April 24 to April 28, 44 percent of Americans are upset about rising costs while 50 percent of respondents are concerned but not upset. About six percent said inflation does not concern them.
Skyrocketing inflation across the economy has hammered Americans’ wallets and become a defining issue of the midterm elections.
Caused largely by supply chain disruptions and labor shortages amid the coronavirus pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has only made things worse, altering global oil supply and sending gas prices to near-record levels across the U.S.
President Biden, who has remained at dismally low approval ratings for months, earned a 42 percent approval rating in the new Washington Post-ABC News poll, which marked an increase from 37 percent in the last poll in February.
Biden has attempted to curtail rising prices by releasing one million barrels of oil a day from the nation’s reserves and offering to subsidize smaller meat producers.
However, only about 28 percent of Americans approve of how Biden is handling inflation, while 68 percent disapprove.
Another 57 percent disapprove of his handling of the economy more generally, compared to 38 percent who approve. Last year, Biden had a 52 percent approval rating for the economy in a Washington-Post ABC News April 21 poll.
The economic frustration has bolstered GOP efforts to retake the House and Senate in November’s midterms.
Most Americans are split between the major party candidates in their district, according to the new poll, with 46 percent leaning toward Democrats and 45 percent leaning toward Republicans in the general election.
Americans trust Republicans to handle the economy and inflation more than they do Democrats. About 36 percent trust Democrats will do a better job with the economy, compared to 50 percent who say Republicans would, per the Post-ABC poll.
On inflation, the divide is similar: 30 percent trust Democrats to handle rising costs, compared to 50 percent who trust Republicans to tackle the issue.
The poll was conducted by telephone April 24-28 among a random national sample of 1,004 adults. About 75 percent of respondents were reached on cell phones and 25 percent were reached on landlines. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
—Updated Monday at 6:22 p.m.