Biden’s approval rating on the economy is rising among US voters

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The number of American voters who approve of Joe Biden’s handling of the economy is rising, but concern over inflation, including rising fuel prices, could derail his re-election bid, according to a new poll.

The latest monthly poll conducted for the Financial Times and the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business found that 41 per cent of registered voters said they approved of Biden’s handling of the economy.

That is a five-point jump from a month earlier, when just 36 per cent said they approved, and the highest approval rating since pollsters began asking the question in November.

Biden’s overall approval rating has climbed to 43 per cent, four points higher than in March and another record high since the monthly poll started.

But while Biden has improved his standing with younger voters, women, independents and Black and Hispanic voters, in particular, since last month’s poll, it highlights warning signs for the president.

The poll found 41 per cent of voters trusted Donald Trump more than Biden on the economy against 35 per cent who preferred the president. Sixteen per cent of registered voters said they trusted neither man to handle the economy.

At the same time, the poll showed inflation continues to weigh on voter sentiment. The latest official data, out last week, showed a 3.5 per cent increase in consumer prices for the year to March, higher than economists had expected.

Nearly four in five voters cited price increases as one of their biggest sources of financial stress, and almost three in four said food prices were having the “biggest impact” on their financial situation. The FT-Michigan Ross poll also revealed a sharp increase in the number of Americans saying the cost of petrol was hitting their pockets, with 52 per cent saying it had a big impact on their financial situation, compared with 47 per cent last month.

In early April, the US Energy Information Administration raised its monthly forecast for retail petrol prices, citing increasing wholesale petrol and crude oil prices. Rising petrol prices are also playing an important role in month-to-month changes in inflation, according to official figures released last week.

Still, the findings will be welcomed by Biden, who has faced persistently low approval ratings, most notably on his handling of the economy, even as the US benefits from relatively strong growth and a robust labour market.

“Voters worry as much about inflation as they ever did, but they blame Mr Biden less,” said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. “Mr Biden’s recent, more strident accusations that greedy corporations are responsible for price increases seem to have won him points.”

The poll also suggested that voters from across the political spectrum were open to supporting third-party candidates. While No Labels, the bipartisan group that had tried to field an independent “unity ticket,” dropped its bid this month, several third-party candidates, including environmental lawyer Robert F Kennedy Jr, academic Cornel West and Green party activist Jill Stein are still seeking ballot access in states across the country.

Nearly half — 46 per cent — of voters, and two-thirds of independents said they would consider voting for a third-party candidate.

The latest survey nevertheless showed the majority of voters were supportive of a range of Biden administration actions and policy proposals. Asked about the Department of Justice’s recent move to sue Apple alleging the technology giant was using its power to crush competition and limit consumer choice for smartphones, nearly three-quarters of voters said large tech groups have too much power.

Separately, asked whether they back the Biden administration’s latest proposals to raise taxes on corporations and high-income individuals, nearly two-thirds said they supported the idea. If enacted, the policy would require billionaires to pay at least a quarter of their income in taxes and raise the corporate tax rate to 28 per cent from 21 per cent.

The FT-Michigan Ross poll was conducted online by Democratic strategists Global Strategy Group and Republican polling firm North Star Opinion Research between April 4-8. It reflects the opinions of 1,010 registered voters nationwide, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.