President Biden will have a tough audience among the American people on Tuesday night when he delivers the annual State of the Union address.
Speaking from the Capitol, Biden is expected to make the case to the American people in his second State of the Union speech that the country is in a strong and prosperous position now and moving forward.
New polling finds that high percentages of the American people feel financially worse off since Biden took office and are unhappy with the direction of the country, highlighting a general pessimism among the population that’s been in place for months.
President Joe Biden pauses as he listens to a question during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, March 25, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
FOX NEWS POLL: STATE OF THE UNION IS DYSFUNCTION, DISSATISFACTION AND DISAPPROVAL
Only 4 in 10 Americans say the state of the union is strong, according to a new Monmouth University poll out Monday. Just 7% call it “very strong” while 32% say the country is in a “somewhat strong” state. Meanwhile, 32% deem the union “not too strong” and 26% say it’s “not at all strong.”
The number of Americans who feel the state of the union is at least somewhat strong has steadily declined over the past five years, from 55% in 2018 to 39% in the latest survey.
The Monmouth poll is hardly alone. According to a recent Marist poll, more than 60% of people think the state of the union isn’t strong — including 72% of independents.
To make matters worse for Biden’s speech, Monmouth also found that an overwhelming majority of Americans, 73%, think the country is on the wrong track, compared to just 24% who feel the U.S. is headed in the right direction.
A recent NBC News poll similarly found that 71% of Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction. Dating back to September, NBC News surveys have repeatedly shown each month that no less than 68% of people think the country is on the wrong track — an unprecedented level of sustained pessimism in the poll’s 30-year history.
73% of voters disapprove of how Democrats are handling inflation. (istock)
AS BIDEN TOUTS US ECONOMY, AMERICANS STRUGGLING TO MAKE CAR PAYMENTS
Last year, polling consistently found that more than 70% or even 80% of the country saw the U.S. as being on the wrong track and as little as 10% expressing satisfaction with its direction.
To add to Biden’s uphill climb Tuesday night, a striking 4 in 10 Americans say they’ve gotten worse off financially since Biden became president, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll. That’s the highest amount in the poll’s 37-year history.
Several polls over the last year have similarly shown a strong plurality or even a majority of Americans saying they’re financially worse off under Biden.
A likely cause of such economic distress is inflation, which continues to eat away at household income and drive persistent public disapproval in Biden’s handling of the economy.
President Joe Biden and Israel’s caretaker prime minister (not pictured) take part in a virtual meeting with leaders of the I2U2 group, which includes, US, Israel, India, and the United Arab Emirates, at a hotel in Jerusalem, on July 14, 2022. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) ((Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
BIDEN BATTERED BY CRISES SINCE LAST STATE OF THE UNION
This wave of unfavorable polling comes as Biden’s already being battered by a series of domestic and foreign policy crises since declaring the state of the union to be strong during last year’s address.
Nonetheless, Tuesday night will offer Biden an opportunity to persuade the American people that their pessimism is misplaced. The State of the Union address will also allow the president to make an early pitch for reelection, should he decide to run again in 2024.
However, that too may be a tough pitch — even among his own base.
Indeed, a striking 62% of Democrats don’t want Biden to run for reelection, compared to just 37% who want to see him seek a second term, according to a new Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll.
The new survey came one day after the ABC News/Washington Post poll found that by a 58-31% margin, Democrats want their party to nominate someone other than Biden to be their 2024 presidential nominee.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
