Biden Overtakes Trump in Poll as Attitudes About Economy Change

The perception of the state of the U.S. economy among voters has improved, a new poll shows, helping President Joe Biden come out ahead in a head-to-head matchup with his likely 2024 reelection opponent, former President Donald Trump.

Thirty-six percent of voters think the American economy is either "excellent" or "good," according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released on Wednesday. It marked a 6-percentage-point improvement from a similar poll in August 2023.

The poll also showed that in a potential presidential election between Biden and Trump, the incumbent holds a 50 percent to 44 percent lead. In a poll of December 20, the survey described the race between the two as "too close to call" when it pointed to 47 percent support for Biden and 46 percent for Trump.

The U.S. economy has been in the midst of elevated inflation, which prompted the Federal Reserve to hike rates beginning in March 2022 to their highest in two decades, pushing up borrowing costs. Inflation has slowed but the economy has remained strong while employers have kept hiring.

The Quinnipiac poll follows other recent surveys that show people's feelings about the economy are improving after months of sour attitudes about financial conditions.

"As inflation fears cool and the bruising campaign heats up, President Biden rides a welcome small uptick in confidence in his handling of the economy," Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said in a statement.

Newsweek reached out to the Trump and Biden campaigns for comment via email on Thursday morning.

The poll showed that Biden's approval ratings were still under water, with 55 percent disapproving the job he is doing as president compared to 41 percent who approve, though this was his highest job approval rating since June 2023, according to Quinnipiac.

The poll surveyed 1,650 registered voters across the country from January 25 to 29 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.

The electorate told pollsters that they view the economy as being one of the top issues facing the country.

Another recent poll suggested that improved economic conditions allowed voters to focus on other issues, such as immigration, as they are decide whom to support in the November election.

A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll showed on Wednesday that immigration is also becoming a concern for voters and that in swing states Biden was trailing Trump.

"As the economy improves and that's less important to voters, there's going to be space for voters to be concerned about other issues," Caroline Bye, a vice president at Morning Consult, told Bloomberg. "It's clear from these results that immigration is an important issue."