Two in 10 Americans say US headed in the right direction, poll shows
By: Callie Patteson
May 21, 2022: Fewer and fewer Americans are saying the United States is on the right track or that the economy is in good shape as inflation soars, according to a new poll.
A recent survey done by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Research found that just 21% of adults believe the US is going in the right direction, down from 29% in April.
Even Democrats are losing hope – with only 33% saying the US is headed in the right direction compared to 49% a month ago and 55% in March.
Americans were only slightly more optimistic about the economy, with a mere 22% describing it as “very good,” “somewhat good,” or “leaning toward good” — compared to 29% who said the same in April. The remaining 78% describe the economy as “very poor,” “somewhat poor,” or “leaning toward poor.”
The survey was released days after President Biden admitted inflation is “a real tough problem to solve” and warned it could get worse before it gets better.
Joe Biden’s approval among Democrats has similarly slumped, dropping to 73% after hitting at least 82% though all of 2021 in the AP-NORC survey.
Two-thirds of Americans (67%) disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy, with 51% saying his policies have done more to hurt than help and 18% saying the opposite — while 30% say the president’s actions have made no difference at all.
The poll also saw Biden’s approval rating dip to 39% from 45% last month and 63% in early May of last year — the lowest percentage in the survey since the 46th president took office.
Biden’s approval among Democrats has similarly slumped, dropping to 73% after hitting at least 82% though all of 2021 in the AP-NORC survey.
AP-NORC polling: Joe Biden presidential job approval
The poll also found that only 38% support Biden’s handling of immigration as border states brace for the lifting of the Trump-era Title 42 health policy — potentially paving the way for a surge in border crossings.
According to the survey, only 21% of Americans have “a great deal of confidence” in Biden’s handling of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while 39% said they only had some confidence in the president. Another 39% said they had hardly any confidence in Biden at all.
A majority of Americans — 54% — also disapprove of Biden’s handling of the US relationship with Russia, while 45% approve. When broken down by party, the poll found that only 15% of Republicans approve of the president’s performance on the issue compared to 73% of Democrats.
The AP-NORC poll surveyed 1,172 adults from May 12 to 16 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Related: Rasmussen Reports Right Direction Polling Results
26% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction
(Monday, May 16, 2022): Twenty-six percent (26%) of "Likely U.S. Voters" think the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey for the week ending May 12, 2022.
The national telephone survey of 2,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports from May 8-12, 2022. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Sources: Rasmussen Reports, AP-NORC Center for Public Research and NY Post