Americans Lack Confidence in Major Economic Leaders

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With the U.S. facing a deadline to increase the nation’s debt limit and the threat of an economic recession looming, Americans lack confidence in a variety of key U.S. leaders on economic matters. Gallup finds between 34% and 38% of U.S. adults expressing a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in President Joe Biden, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and congressional leaders in both major parties to do or recommend the right thing for the economy. CONTINUED

Jeffrey M. Jones, Gallup

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Biden’s Approval Rating Falls Sharply; It’s The Economy: IBD/TIPP

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President Joe Biden’s approval rating has fallen to its worst level of 2023 as even Democrats turn cooler toward his handling of the economy, the new IBD/TIPP Poll finds.

The May IBD/TIPP Poll finds that 43% of Americans age 18 and up approve of how Biden is handling the presidency, and 49% disapprove. Biden’s net-approval rating of -6 points is a big step down after being flat the two prior months, with a 45%-45% split. …

The crack in Biden’s support appears tied to the economy. Net approval of Biden’s economic policies deteriorated to -17 points from -8 in April and -9 the prior two months. Now 47% of adults disapprove of Biden’s economic stewardship and just 30% approve. CONTINUED

Jed Graham, Investor’s Business Daily

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CBS News poll: How do people view book bans, trans rights issues as GOP presidential primary fight ramps up?

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Book bans make headlines. A stance on LGBTQ issues might impact a company’s business or draw the ire of the right. With Republicans almost universally telling us they want 2024 candidates who’ll “challenge woke ideas,” it’s clear race and gender issues are staying in the spotlight this campaign.

Here we look at what may be driving Republicans’ interest in these issues, whether they’re popular and how, on matters of what to actually do, the party shows some splits between MAGA Republicans and the rest.

For a lot of Republicans, there’s a pushback against the perceived overreach of today’s diversity and inclusion efforts: 82% of Republicans say efforts in the U.S. to promote the rights of transgender people are “going too far.” (Most independents, for their part, say the same.) And then two-thirds of Republicans say efforts to promote racial diversity in the U.S. are “going too far.” CONTINUED

Anthony Salvanto, CBS News

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Trust in Media 2023: What news outlets do Americans trust most for information?

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The divide between Democrats and Republicans on which news sources are trustworthy remains stark.

Last year, The Economist / YouGov published the results of a poll asking Americans where they get their news from and how much they trusted 22 prominent media organizations. YouGov revisited the topic this year by asking Americans to share how much trust they place in even more broadcast, digital, print, and social media outlets: 56 in total. …

As was the case last year, there are still very few news organizations that are considered trustworthy by sizable proportions of both Democrats and Republicans. The cable news outlet CNN is the most politically polarizing media source we asked about. …

The other outlets that have the largest chasm in trust between Democrats and Republicans — both of them trusted more by Democrats — are MSNBC and the New York Times. CONTINUED

Linley Sanders, YouGov

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The People and the Experts

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Are speculators driving up oil prices? Should we raise energy prices to slow global warming? The present study takes a small number of such questions and compares the views of economic experts with those of the public. This comparison uses a panel of more than 2000 respondents from YouGov with the views of the panel of experts from the Initiative on Global Markets at the Chicago Booth School.

We found that most of the US population is at best modestly informed about major economic questions and policies. The low level of knowledge is generally associated with the intrusion of ideological, political, and religious views that challenge or deny the current economic consensus. CONTINUED

William D. Nordhaus (Yale) & Douglas Rivers (Stanford)

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Biden’s mental sharpness and physical health doubted, Post-ABC poll shows

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More than 6 in 10 Americans say President Biden does not have the mental sharpness or physical health to serve effectively as president, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll — a finding that underscores some of the stark challenges he is confronting at the outset of his campaign for reelection.

Though Biden, 80, and former president Donald Trump, 76, are close in age, the poll shows that Americans have strikingly different views about their capabilities, even as Biden’s doctor has declared the incumbent healthy. About a third of Americans (32 percent) say Biden has the mental sharpness to be effective in the White House, while 54 percent say the same of Trump. And one-third (33 percent) say Biden is in good enough physical health for the job; while 64 percent say that about Trump, the leading Republican candidate. CONTINUED

Maeve Reston, Scott Clement & Emily Guskin, Washington Post

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