President Joe Biden isn’t likely to get a boost in favorability following former President Donald Trump’s guilty verdict in Manhattan on Thursday, and in fact, that will increasingly be viewed by tens of millions of Americans as him being involved in persecuting his primary political opponent.
But other factors are also working against Biden’s reelection, and one of the most significant is the weakening economy.
In April, consumer spending in the U.S. increased by 0.2% before inflation adjustments but effectively fell after accounting for inflation. Most spending was directed towards necessities like rent, utilities, medical care, gas, and insurance, leaving less available for discretionary items such as travel, recreation, and consumer electronics. There was a noticeable decline in recreational spending. Additionally, high interest rates and monthly payments have slowed car sales, prompting dealers to lower prices or offer better incentives to attract customers, MarketWatch reported.
Earlier this week, meanwhile, Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican who ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination this year but who has also been mentioned as being high on Donald Trump’s list of VP choices, explained why a growing number of black voters are flocking to the former president.
Scott, in a Sunday interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” while talking about how Trump and President Joe Biden are trying to win over black voters, said “jobs and justice” are driving up Trump’s favorable among black Americans.
“Here’s what I can tell you, is that under Donald Trump, we were better off,” Scott said. “There are two things that are driving black votes back to Donald Trump, jobs and justice. Number one, under Donald Trump, our wages were going up. Right now, fairness is going down. But if you’re really concerned about racial justice in America, let’s not forget, Joe Biden is the guy that talked about racial jungles as a result of desegregation.”
See also: Surprising number of Americans are struggling in Biden’s economy, and it’s getting worse: Report
“Let’s not forget the fact that Joe Biden is the president who said, ‘if you don’t vote for me, you can’t be black’, an old white dude telling me I can’t be black if I don’t vote for him,” he said. “This is the president who said that if — that the Republican Party wants to put you back in chains.”
“The only person I have seen restraining black folks economically is the Joe Biden economy,” he continued. “So, I find it quite insulting to suggest that Joe Biden does not have serious concerns, when his own vice president, Kamala Harris, said he supported segregation. And if you look in cities like Chicago today, the elimination of charter schools under Joe Biden resegregates schools in America. We need four more years of common sense under Donald Trump, and not four more years of segregation under Joe Biden.”
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.