MSNBC’s Joy Reid is suggesting that President Joe Biden’s approval ratings have decreased because Americans spent their stimulus checks from COVID-19 relief packages and “now they’re not happy.”
During a segment of Reid’s show, “The Reidout” Monday, the host noted Biden’s lower approval ratings despite passing a COVID-19 relief package that distributed another round of stimulus checks.
“I hate to really dwell on polls because they’re ephemeral, and at this point in many of their presidencies, a lot of presidents faced a crisis of public confidence, and Joe Biden faces a massive ongoing COVID nightmare that is harming his numbers. His numbers are pretty low right now,” Reid said.
She added, “There are also a lot of Americans who, despite having gotten the shots and checks, are still telling pollsters that he’s accomplished nothing or almost nothing, which I find amazing. I guess they spent the whole $2,000, and now they’re not happy anymore. Does this matter? Should we think about this in terms of those polling numbers?”
In March, Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which was designed to deliver aid to Americans struggling financially from the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill delivered $1,400 payments to Americans earning less than $75,000 a year.
That came months after then-President Donald Trump signed a relief package that sent out $600 direct payments.
Reid referenced an ABC News/Washington Post poll that found 41% of Americans approve of Biden’s job performance while 53% disapprove.
As ABC News notes, “Among the key factors is the economy. With inflation soaring, 70% say the economy is in bad shape, up from 58% last spring. While just half blame Biden directly for inflation — its worst in 31 years — his approval for handling the economy overall is down to 39%, off 6 points just since early September and 13 points from last spring.”
Despite Biden’s success in getting his roughly $1 trillion infrastructure package signed into law, just 35% of Americans say they think he has accomplished “much overall.”
