A recent poll indicates nearly half of voters believe former President Trump’s top economic priority is reducing high prices on goods, while just 23% think President Biden is focused on bringing down costs even though addressing inflation is voters’ dominant economic concern.
Asked to identify the most pressing economic issue facing the country today, a commanding 64% majority of registered voters cited lowering the high costs of everyday goods, services and gas which have surged amidst historic inflation over the past year and now exceed 8%. A small minority of just 7% said creating more American jobs was most important to them.
Yet despite inflation worries dominating over jobs, 43% of voters believe President Biden is primarily focused on adding more jobs as his main economic goal. Only 23% think Biden is prioritizing the reduction of prices on consumer goods, everyday services and gas costs which voters overwhelmingly identified as their top economic concern.
In contrast, 49% said former President Donald Trump’s number one economic priority is lowering the sticker prices of goods and services to provide relief from high inflation. Just 12% believe raising wages is Trump’s primary economic focus, which came in a very distant second place priority for voters in the survey.
The poll results suggest President Biden’s messaging that heavily touts strong job growth under his administration seems disconnected from the economic anxieties most voters are feeling acutely regarding surging inflation and its burden on household budgets. Former President Trump appears more attuned to voters’ intense concerns over rising costs as the 2024 matchup comes into clearer focus.
But Biden could regain some lost ground by sharpening his administration’s messaging to focus more directly on concrete actions aimed at providing inflation relief and reducing costs for American consumers and businesses, rather than trumpeting continued job growth which voters see as a lower priority currently. Convincing skeptical voters that Biden fundamentally understands and champions the economic pressures they face in daily life may help improve his weak polling numbers on a critical issue.
