Majority of Americans Blame Biden for Inflation: Poll

President Joe Biden speaks on manufacturing at the SRC Arena and Events Center of Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, N.Y., on Oct. 27, 2022. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

A majority of Americans blame President Joe Biden for the historic levels of inflation the nation is currently experiencing, according to a new poll.

Conducted on Oct. 30 for Newsweek, the Redfield & Wilton Strategies poll found that out of a sample of 1,500 eligible voters, 61 percent held Biden and his policies either “significantly” or “fairly” responsible for inflation.

Specifically, 43 percent said Biden’s share of the blame was significant, 18 percent said it was fairly significant, and 17 percent said he was “slightly” to blame. On the other hand, 23 percent said he was not at all responsible.

When given a choice of Biden, former President Donald Trump, or the COVID-19 pandemic, 44 percent of voters identified Biden as the main cause of inflation, 17 percent chose Trump, and 14 percent chose the COVID-19 pandemic.

When respondents were asked to choose the top three issues influencing their votes in the upcoming election, inflation ranked first at 45 percent, followed by abortion at 34 percent and economic growth at 24 percent.

Further, respondents felt the Republican Party was more focused on inflation than the Democratic Party, with 44 percent believing it to be one of the biggest priorities for Republican candidates.

On the overall economy, 49 percent of respondents said they were worse off now than when Biden entered office last year, compared to 23 percent who said they were better off. Twenty-one percent said they were neither better nor worse off, and 7 percent said they did not know.

The results of the poll come on the heels of another survey released on Oct. 25 by the Nationwide Retirement Institute, which found that over the last 12 months, nearly a fifth of Americans skipped meals or limited food purchases due to rising inflation.

Other tradeoffs survey respondents said they had made included postponing health and wellness visits, avoiding taking prescription medications, and reducing contributions to their retirement plans.

With election day looming just days away, such revelations are likely to add to the worries of Democrats like former White House press secretary Jenn Psaki, who recently told NBC that she felt Biden’s job performance would hurt fellow Democrats in the election.

“If it is a referendum on the president, they will lose,” she said on Sept. 25. “And they know that.”

At a Sept. 3 Pennsylvania rally, former President Donald Trump appeared to agree with that assessment, contending, “This election is a referendum on skyrocketing inflation, rampant crime, soaring murders, crushing gas prices, millions and millions of illegal aliens pouring across our border, race and gender indoctrination, converting our schools.”

The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House for comment.