Eighty percent of Americans, including 80 percent of Democrats, are "going in the wrong direction."

[Washington= AP/Newsys] Reporter Yoo Se-jin = An overwhelming number of Americans, including eight out of 10 Democrats, are saying the U.S. is going in the wrong direction, a new poll has revealed.

According to a new joint survey by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 85 percent of U.S. adults said the U.S. was going the wrong way, and 79 pe

rcent said the economy was not good. These results suggest that President Joe Biden faces a fundamental challenge in encouraging voters to vote for Democrats in the November midterm elections.

High inflation, which has caused gasoline and food prices to soar, is the focus of Americans' greatest interest, beating the healthy unemployment rate of 3.6 percent. Even among Democrats, 67 percent said the economic situation was not good.

Chuck McClane, 74, said, "He's doing his best, but I can't say he's doing well. The opposition to that is too strong. On the other hand, I don't think the Democratic Party is doing enough in Congress.

McClane, a Las Vegas Democrat, said more Americans feel that the U.S. government is not responding to their demands due to gasoline and food prices, Russia's war in Ukraine, and the deep political divisions in the U.S., adding, "We are frustrated and have no hope of getting better."

According to the poll, only 39 percent of Americans voted for Biden's leadership in general, while 60 percent opposed it. His approval rating fell to a presidential low last month and has not recovered since then. In particular, 69 percent of the respondents said they did not approve of President Biden on economic issues, which was even more damaging. Even among Democrats, 43 percent opposed Biden's handling of economic issues.

Only 14 percent said the situation in the U.S. is going in the right direction, down from 29 percent in April and 21 percent in May.The response that the U.S. is going in the right direction has been steadily decreasing over the past year since reaching half of the first half of 2021.

Dorothy Bogor, 66, a Democrat in Martin County, North Carolina, said she voted for Biden in the 2020 presidential election but would not vote for Democrats in this year's midterm elections.

The U.S. has recently had to endure many economic unfavorable factors, including high inflation, a sharp rate hike, and a weak stock price. However, Biden said his decline was due to a year ago when gasoline prices began to rise, which was fueled by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February by soaring prices. However, he dismissed claims by Republican lawmakers and some economists that the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 bailout last year contributed to inflation, pointing out that inflation is a global phenomenon.

The poll was conducted from the 23rd to the 27th. Polls show that Americans' complaints are bipartisan. Ninety-two percent of Republicans and 78 percent of Democrats said the United States was going in the wrong direction, but the percentage of Democrats who said the United States was going in the wrong direction rose sharply from 66 percent last month.

On Biden's handling of COVID-19, 53% said they were in favor, while only 36% said they were in favor of handling gun policies, and 62% opposed.

Date: 2021-06-01

Writer: 서화목