Record percentage says US headed in wrong direction: NBC poll

Nearly three-quarters of voters in a new poll said they believed things in the U.S. were headed in the wrong direction.

An NBC News poll revealed just 21 percent of voters feel the nation is headed in the right direction, while 74 percent think the opposite. 

Over half of respondents, or 58 percent, said they feel “more worried that America’s best years may already be behind us,” while 35 percent feel more confident the best years are still ahead.

About a third of respondents, or 34 percent, said they think the state of the nation will worsen over the next five years. Just two percent more, or 36 percent, said they think things will get better in that same time period, and 21 percent said they think things will stay the same. 

Biden’s approval rating in this poll ticked up to 42 percent, and 48 percent of voters reported having “somewhat negative” or “very negative” feelings toward the president. 

The approval rating is steady since a similar NBC News poll was conducted in May, though Biden’s disapproval rating has climbed one point, from 54 to 55 percent.

Last week, the president signed a $740 billion healthcare and climate change bill into law, marking a key legislative win for his party ahead of this year’s midterms.

The Inflation Reduction Act was a scaled-down version of the Build Back Better bill that never came for a vote last year but the bill still aims to address climate change, lower healthcare costs for Americans and tamp down inflation.

Forty-two percent of voters in the NBC News poll said the legislation was a good idea, compared with 31 percent who said it was a bad idea. Just over a quarter reported they had no opinion.

A plurality of voters, or 36 percent, reported thinking the legislation would not make a difference in their lives, while 35 reported thinking it would make things worse for them personally. Just 26 percent reported thinking the legislation would make things better for them personally. 

Conducted Aug. 12-16, the NBC News poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percent.