While the Biden administration deflects on the long-held simple definition of recession, an ABC News/Ipsos poll found almost 70% of adults believe the U.S. economy is getting worse.
Just 12% responded they believe President Joe Biden's economy is getting better after it posted back-to-back quarters of negative growth – the traditional definition of an economic recession.
The remaining 18% believe the economy has remained the same.
The numbers come just months before the 2022 midterms, where Republicans are looking to cut the Democrat majorities in the House and Senate. About 75% of Republican voters say they are enthusiastic about voting in these midterms, which is higher than Democrats (68%) or independents (49%).
ABC News noted those numbers are rising for Democrats since June, however, as abortion has become an important voting issue. There are 49% of adults favoring a candidate that supports keeping abortion legal, while just 27% say they will support a candidate seeking to restrict abortions.
President Joe Biden is also moving the needle back some on gas prices, which have been declining off their record highs in the second quarter. Biden's approval rating on gas prices is up 7 points since June, reaching 34% approval now.
Still, Biden's overall approval rating in the poll remains unchanged and under water at 37%, with a majority 62% disapproving.
That is because inflation remains a drag on Biden's approval. Just 29% approve of the job Biden has done on inflation, while 69% disapprove.
The ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted Aug. 5-6 among 665 Americans. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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