“Republicans Would Do Better”: New Poll Shows Majority of Americans Pessimistic About Direction of US, Citing Stagnant Economy and Soaring Inflation

Amy LewisNov 9, 2023

Minute Read

The majority of Americans think the United States is headed in the wrong direction, believing the economy is flatlining and inflation skyrocketing, according to a new poll.

Biden and Trump? No, Thanks!

Editorial credit: mark reinstein / Shutterstock.

And many Americans are bored of Biden and Trump and don’t want to see a re-run of the contentious 2020 election between the pair, the survey says.

Unhappy with Life in America

The poll, carried out by ABC News/Ipsos in English and Spanish in early November and using a sample of 949 US adults, found that 76 percent of Americans are not happy with the way things are going in the country. Respondents’ views suggest they don’t have much faith in another Biden or Trump presidency to sort it out.

Most Republicans Have Negative View

Perhaps unsurprisingly under the Democratic presidency of Joe Biden, most Republicans (95 percent) hold the view that the country is not advancing in vital areas, including the economy, the poll showed. In contrast, just over half of Democratic voters who took part (54 percent) had such a negative view, as well as 76 percent of independents.

2024 Presidential Election

The next US presidential election is just under a year from now, on November 5, 2024, and the leading candidates for the Democratic and Republican nominations are the incumbent president and former president Trump.

Biden and Trump Issues

Both likely candidates, who are far ahead of rivals in national polling, are facing significant problems for their potential runs, including relating to their age. Biden will be 81 this month and Trump is 77. The pair have suffered a series of blunders, including trips, falls, memory loss and incoherent speeches, and many are now wondering if they’re up to the job because of their advanced age.

Trump is also battling a mountain of federal and civil charges, in cases relating to election interference, top-secret documents, business fraud and hush money payments. At least one of the charges carries a 20-year prison term if he’s convicted and Trump is also facing the prospect of a fine of at least $250 million as his property empire is threatened in the fraud trial currently underway in New York City.

Trump ‘Worse Than Biden’

The ABC News/Ipsos poll found that 60 percent of those who took part had an unfavorable view of Trump, compared to 50 percent of Biden. At party level, 89 percent of Republicans felt negative about Biden while 92 percent of Democrats didn’t have a favorable view of Trump.

Top Voter Issues

Amid soaring food and fuel prices driven in part by the ongoing war in Ukraine, the economy and inflation are at the top of voters’ minds, the poll shows, revealing that 74 percent are worried about the state of the economy and 69 percent are concerned about inflation.

‘Republicans Would Do Better Job’

Respondents believed that, on the whole, Republicans would do a better job of fixing the economy than Democrats, at 35 percent and 25 percent respectively. They also think Republicans would have more success with driving down inflation compared to their Democratic rivals: 35 percent versus 21 percent.

Healthcare, Education, Crime

Among other issues on voters’ minds were healthcare and education, with 64 percent and 61 percent of respective respondents saying they were important for them. And 57 percent said crime was a prime voting issue while 56 percent wanted more action on gun violence amid an epidemic of mass shootings.

Abortion and Democrats

Just under half of those who took part in the poll, 45 percent, said abortion was an important issue going into the 2024 presidential election, and they trusted Democrats over Republicans to deal with it, at 40 percent compared to 23 percent.

Climate Change

Which party was best placed to tackle climate change and the record temperatures the US and wider world are experiencing? respondents were asked. More people, 39 percent, answered the Democrats compared to just 13 percent for Republicans.

Middle East Conflict

As war rages between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas, leaving at least 10,000 people dead so far, respondents believed Republicans would be more likely to offer solutions and bring about peace, with 26 percent holding this view versus 19 percent for Democrats.

Ukraine War

But Democrats would be better at dealing with the ongoing war in Ukraine after Russia invaded the country nearly two years ago. A total of 26 percent of respondents favored the Democrats, compared to 23 percent who opted for Republicans.