A poll released Wednesday lays any economic and inflationary woes solely at the feet of President Joe Biden.
According to the Morning Consult/Politico poll, 52% of voters say Biden is ''most responsible'' for the current state of the economy, with 29% saying former President Donald Trump is most responsible and 19% saying they have no opinion.
Most voters also feel the Biden administration is taking the country in the overall wrong direction, 53% to 47%, and a majority of those who see the economy as the No. 1 issue believe the administration is going in the wrong direction, 56% to 44%.
A total of 90% of those surveyed said they were ''somewhat or very'' concerned about the economy, with 93% of Republicans, 88% of Democrats and 89% of independents feeling that way, according to the poll.
Most of the voters surveyed (85%) said they were somewhat or very concerned about the nation's 13-year-high inflation rate of 5.4% for the year ending in June.
Most voters (53%) blame the increase in inflation on America's return to pre-pandemic behaviors as being ''very or somewhat'' responsible, according to the poll.
A higher number, 59%, view the policies of the Biden administration as being mostly responsible for the rise in inflation.
Despite the gloom of inflation and continued unemployment, voters in the survey were optimistic about the future, with 40% saying things will get ''somewhat or much better,'' compared with 38% who said things will get worse, and 21% who said there would be no change or did not have an opinion.
The recent announcement that the consumer confidence index increased to 129.1 in July, up from 128.9 in June, brings it to the highest level since February 2020, seems to reinforce the survey's finding.
''Consumers' appraisal of present-day conditions held steady, suggesting economic growth in Q3 is off to a strong start. Consumers' optimism about the short-term outlook didn't waver, and they continued to expect that business conditions, jobs, and personal financial prospects will improve,'' said Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. ''Short-term inflation expectations eased slightly but remained elevated. Spending intentions picked up in July, with a larger percentage of consumers saying they planned to purchase homes, automobiles, and major appliances in the coming months. Thus, consumer spending should continue to support robust economic growth in the second half of 2021.''
The poll was conducted from July 23 to 26 with 1,997 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.