A CNN analyst warned on Monday that President Joe Biden is heading for a major defeat in November if he does not do more to change the perceptions of a majority of likely voters about his handling of several important issues.
On Monday, the network’s political director, David Chalien, analyzed numbers from a recent poll revealing that the Democratic incumbent faced significant challenges regarding public perception of the economy. Only 34% of respondents expressed positive views about Biden’s performance, a figure “significantly lower than his overall job approval,” according to Chalien.
“When you ask ‘How is the economy going today? What’s your rating of it?’ 30% of Americans say it’s good, 70% of Americans say it’s poor,” he continued. “Economy is overwhelmingly the most important issue for voters. This is not insignificant.”
Mainstream media outlets have been extensively covering the uproar on college campuses regarding the Israel war while largely overlooking the ongoing concerns voiced by voters about the challenges they face at the gas station and grocery store. According to Chalien, if Biden’s attention shifts away from addressing the economy due to issues like abortion or international conflicts, it could pose a significant risk to his political standing.
“While there are a ton of other issues to discuss, and even other issues that the president performs worse on – the Israel-Hamas war, immigration – the economy is still front and center for people, so this is something you’re gonna hear Biden talk about day in and day out,” he said.
Biden is free to campaign while his likely GOP rival, Donald Trump, remains trapped in a Manhattan courtroom facing what most legal experts on the left and right have called ridiculous charges involving “hush money” payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. But that doesn’t mean Biden’s campaigning is going to be effective, especially after a damning new report has dropped.
After years of campaigning for “Bidenomics” to boost the economy, the Biden administration recently announced that the inflation-adjusted Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2024 was lower than expected, leading to a new round of criticism for Biden.
The White House Council of Economic Advisers shared data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis on X, presenting a chart illustrating the performance of “real GDP.” The figures indicated that real GDP grew by 1.6% in the first quarter on an annualized basis, falling short of expectations, which were projected at 2.5%.
The underperformance in GDP growth was attributed to several factors, including consumer spending growth falling below expectations, along with declines in inventories and net exports. Additionally, the personal consumption expenditures price index, a crucial measure of inflation, showed a 3.4% annualized rate growth, which could potentially deter Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
“These GDP numbers were shocking,” said Fox Business anchor David Asman. “We were expecting a 2.4% growth. The actual came in at 1.6 — a huge loss — and with rising inflation — even the Fed is admitting that inflation is not only sticky, it seems to be going in the wrong direction — that adds up to stagflation.” Also, the economy is one of the top issues among concerns for Americans heading into the 2024 election, along with mass illegal immigration.
