The majority of Americans do not trust economic leaders, including President Joe Biden and Treasury secretary Janet Yellen, to steer the country's economy in the right direction, according to an April Gallup poll.
When asked how confident they were in the president "to do or to recommend the right thing for the economy," 64 percent of respondents said "only a little" or "almost none." Fifty-four percent do not trust Yellen or Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell to manage the economy well. Many of the economic leaders Gallup included in the poll are at or near the lowest confidence ratings recorded in 20 years.
The findings are yet another blow to Biden's reelection efforts. Despite the White House's insistence that the 80-year-old president is fit for a second term and has a reputable economic record, 68 percent of Americans believe Biden is too old to run, and 54 percent think former president Donald Trump handled the economy better, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Sunday.
"This poll is just brutal for President Biden," ABC's George Stephanopoulos said Sunday.
The Gallup poll, published Tuesday, comes the same day Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) start talks on the U.S. debt ceiling. Biden is insisting the federal government raise the debt limit without conditions. McCarthy said the House will not approve a proposal that does not include spending cuts that address the ballooning budget deficit.
The Gallup poll also found that only 34 percent of people had "a great deal" or "fair amount" of confidence in Democratic leaders in Congress to make the right decisions for the economy. Republicans in Congress had a slightly better confidence level at 38 percent.