Black and Hispanic male voters are not optimistic about President Joe Biden’s leadership of the economy, citing poor economic conditions and market uncertainty, according to results of a focus group reported Friday by Politico.
Eight minority men used words such as “discouraged,” “pathetic” and “pessimistic” in describing their attitude toward Biden’s economic performance and indicated dissatisfaction with Democrats over the rise in crime and the crisis on the southern border, according to Politico. Biden has recently been traveling around the country in the “Investing in America Blitz” as he tries to convince Americans that his economic policy, dubbed “Bidenomics,” is working for them. (RELATED: Biden’s Burdensome Regulations Are Contributing To Lackluster Economic Productivity, Experts Say)
“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” one man in the group said, according to Politico. “They’re kind of like saying that there possibly is going to be a soft landing, but they’re also expecting a recession of some sorts. It’s kind of a mixed message.”
Major credit agency Fitch Ratings announced earlier in August that the U.S. is heading for a mild recession in the fourth quarter of 2023, extending into the first quarter of 2024. The agency also downgraded the U.S. credit rating from “AAA” to “AA+.”
BIDENOMICS BUST VS TRUMP BOOM pic.twitter.com/c8HyYPUvCI
— Congressman Troy E. Nehls (@RepTroyNehls) August 18, 2023
“Our economy is the lowest it’s been in god knows how long,” a Hispanic respondent said, according to Politico. “We keep [sending] money to Ukraine and other countries rather than helping ourselves.”
Congress has granted more than $113 billion in military aid to the Ukrainian government in its war against Russia.
The U.S. economy grew at a rate of 2.4% annually in the second quarter of 2023, exceeding expectations. The original 1.1% estimate for the first quarter was also revised up to 2.0%.
Only 36% of Americans approve of Biden’s handling of the economy, while 58% disapprove, according to a survey from Quinnipiac University. According to the poll, 37% of black voters disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy while 55% approve, and 55% of Hispanic voters disapprove while 35% approve.
Inflation remained elevated in July at 3.2%, declining from a high of 9.1% in June 2022 and increasing from 3.0% in June.
“I’m definitely not happy with where America was when Trump was president. And I’m not happy with where America is now that Biden’s president,” a black registered Democrat said, according to Politico. “We’ve already had years of both of them being president and with no kind of good results. So I’m hoping there’s some other, you know, candidate or alternative besides these two.”
The jobs market struggled in July, adding only 187,000 jobs, less than the 200,000 economists expected, with unemployment remaining low at 3.5%. The number of jobs previously reported for May and June was revised down from previous estimates by a cumulative 49,000 jobs.
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