![MSNBC's Jonathan Lemire said inflation doesn't seem to be of concern for most Americans despite recent polling to the contrary. [Screenshot MSNBC Morning Joe]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-15-at-9.38.16-AM-e1663249152390.png "MSNBC's Jonathan Lemire said inflation doesn't seem to be of concern for most Americans despite recent polling to the contrary. [Screenshot MSNBC Morning Joe]")
MSNBC’s Jonathan Lemire said inflation doesn’t seem to be of concern for most Americans despite recent polling to the contrary.
Lemire was talking with Financial Times reporter Edward Luce about a recent piece he published called “The Republicans Are Trying Hard To Defeat Themselves.”
Lemire then asked about Republicans’ messaging for the 2022 midterms, arguing that they have no economic platform.
“Mainstream Republicans, they don’t want to talk about election deniers. They don’t want to talk about Lindsey Graham’s new abortion proposal knowing this has animated those on the left so far. What they do want to talk about is the economy, and they did seem to get, you know, a weapon for their arsenal with the inflation numbers, but yet, gas prices remain low. Inflation, though up, doesn’t seem to be the top of mind of a lot of Americans right now. They don’t have a economic argument. What can they sell the American people between now and November?”
Luce said Republicans would put a “strong emphasis on crime.” (RELATED: ‘Raw Deal’: Small Business Owners Sound The Alarm Over Economy, Poll Shows)
“You’re going to see a strong attempt to whip up fear about rising crime numbers in the cities,” Luce said, arguing Republicans would likely pull the ‘defund the police’ card. Luce also said Republicans would focus on wokeness, which he argued would backfire, as women are angry in the wake of Roe v. Wade.
A recent Gallup poll found approximately 56% of Americans say rising prices have caused financial hardship, with 44% describing the hardship as moderate and 12% as severe. The poll surveyed 1,570 adults over the age of 18 between Aug. 1 and Aug. 22 with a +/- 3 percentage point margin of error. An August NBC poll found 56% of those polled disapproved of President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy.
Despite Luce’s prediction that voters would care about abortion, a June Cygnal study found that the most important issues to voters polled were the high cost of living/inflation and crime/violence. Just eight percent of those polled said abortion was the most important issue to them.