- Forty-two percent prioritize the economy as the country’s most important issue
- Immigration/border security and homelessness are the other top concerns
- Abortion rose in importance to fourth place
- Sixty percent express dissatisfaction with the direction of the country
Biden is on the beach, and Harris is busy campaigning. Americans are left wondering: Who is managing the country anyway? The joy spread at campaign rallies doesn’t put food on the table. Living in a make-believe world is tough. The same people who hid a struggling Biden during the primaries now want to play the same hide-and-seek game with his replacement.
Is the media a cartel or simply the Democratic Party’s propaganda arm? Take your pick. They want Americans to believe everything is milk and honey and that we’re in for a new joy ride. Let’s all smile, say “kumbaya,” and elect their candidate.
But, with just over 60 days before the election, Americans are prioritizing keeping their jobs and putting food on the table. Forty-two percent picked the economy as the country’s most important issue, followed by immigration and border security at 37 percent. Candidates who fail to address these priorities risk losing ground with key voter groups, especially independents.
Homelessness and abortion were also significant concerns, each cited by 18 percent and 17 percent of survey respondents, respectively.
In the run-up to the election, abortion has gained importance since January, when it was in 10th place and rated an important issue by only 12%.
These results are from the latest TIPP Poll, completed last Friday. The poll surveyed 1,582 Americans and asked participants, “What are the top three issues facing the country?”
Ten other issues received double-digit responses: health care (16%), crime (16%), national debt/federal government spending (15%), home affordability (14%), gun violence/gun control (14%), climate change (13%), trust in government/politicians (12%), election 2024 (12%), threats to democracy (12%), and lack of unity/division in the country (11%).
Meanwhile, terrorism/national security (9%), mental health (8%), Russia/Ukraine situation and global security (8%), Israel-Hamas conflict (5%), racial justice (5%), China-U.S. relations (4%), and coronavirus (4%) are in the bottom tier, each garnering under ten percent.
For Democrats, the top issues are the economy (34%), abortion (27%), and health care (22%).
Republicans, on the other hand, prioritized immigration and border security (61%), the economy (50%), crime (23%), and national debt/government spending (21%).
Independents aligned more closely with Republicans, with their top concerns being the economy (42%), immigration/border security (35%), and homelessness (21%).
Top Economic Issues
Inflation (49%), food prices (47%), and people’s ability to pay their bills (26%) are among the top three economic issues facing Americans. (From a list of 21 economy-related issues, the survey respondents picked their top three concerns.)
Gasoline prices (24%), home affordability (20%), government spending (17%), recession (16%), tax rates (15%), rising interest rates (13%), and lack of good jobs (10%) received double-digit responses.
With food prices surging 22% under Biden-Harris leadership and 25% of Americans skipping meals, economic dissatisfaction will likely become a decisive factor in November, particularly in swing states with razor-thin margins.
Direction Of Country
Each month, the TIPP Poll probes the general sentiment about the country’s direction using the survey question, “In general, how satisfied are you with the direction that the country is going in at this time?”
Nearly two-thirds (60%) are dissatisfied with the country’s direction. 34% said they are not at all satisfied, and 26% are not very satisfied. Most Republicans (82%) and independents (67%) expressed dissatisfaction. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of Democrats are satisfied.
We also compute a compact index from responses to the above question. The index ranges from 0 to 100. A score of 50 or above is positive, below 50 is negative, and 50 is neutral.
Overall, the Index entered the negative zone in September 2021 and has remained there for 36 months. The September reading is 39.4.
Democrats have the most optimistic reading, 63.3, while Republicans have the lowest score (21.9), indicating extreme pessimism. Independents are in the middle at 32.9.
Democrats fell 25.4 points from a high of 77.3 in April 2021 to 63.3 this month—an 18% drop. Their median during the Biden-Harris presidency is 60.5.
Republicans’ slide began after the elections in November 2020, and they have been posting pessimistic readings (under 50) for 46 months in a row, with a median of 20.9 during Biden’s presidency.
The median rating of the independents during Biden’s presidency is 31.2.
Biden Job Approval
Since the beginning of 2024, President Biden’s approval rating has been stuck in the mid-thirties. It is 37% in the latest TIPP poll.
Nearly three-fourths (75%) of Democrats approve of the job he is doing as president. In contrast, most Republicans (85%) and nearly six in ten independents (58%) disapprove. While two-thirds (69%) of liberals approve, only 17% of conservatives and 42% of moderates express approval.
Biden-Harris Administration
Fewer than 30% of Americans give the Biden-Harris administration good grades on all eleven issues tracked in the TIPP Poll. Notably, the administration flunked on key issues where a majority gave a D or F grade:
- Handling the economy (52%)
- Handling immigration/border security (53%)
- Handling spending and taxes (52%)
- Handling violence and crime in the country (51%)
The moral: It will be hard for Harris to distance herself from President Biden, as veteran strategist James Carville suggested in a recent New York Times piece, advocating for her to break from Biden on policy. However, Carville appears out of touch, disingenuously crediting Biden for taming inflation when, in fact, Biden-Harris policies caused it. Mr. Carville, gaslighting doesn’t work when stomachs are empty; no amount of fake vibes and artificial joy can lure hungry voters. When Biden and Harris took office, inflation was just 1.4%. Since March 2021, inflation has consistently remained above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target for 41 consecutive months. Americans haven’t forgotten that Harris promoted Bidenomics and can’t simply distance herself from it.
As November looms, the overwhelming dissatisfaction with the country’s direction, driven by economic concerns, could be the deciding factor in swing states like Michigan and Wisconsin, where margins are razor-thin. American voters, known to vote with their wallets, demand solutions, and candidates who fail to deliver or browbeat voters would face their wrath at the polling booth.
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. Israel’s Netanyahu Unbowed By Pressure As Gaza War Rages On – AFP
Concerns grew over the chances of securing a Gaza truce, a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected making any “concessions” in stalled talks toward a hostage release deal.
Netanyahu told a televised press conference at the end of a day of nationwide protests that he would “not give in to pressure” to renege on demands in indirect negotiations with Hamas to end the war, now nearing its 12th month.
2. U.S. Charges Hamas Leadership For Role In Oct. 7 ‘Terrorist Atrocities’ – UPI
The U.S. Justice Department announced terrorism charges against the six senior leaders of Hamas for their role in “planning, supporting and perpetrating the terrorist atrocities” in Israel on Oct. 7, and the “brutal murders of more than a thousand innocent civilians, including over 40 American citizens.”
The charges against Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammad Al-Masri, Marwan Issa, Khaled Meshaal, and Ali Baraka were unsealed Tuesday. Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran in July. Sinwar, one of the alleged planners of the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel, took over as Hamas’ new political leader.
3. Saudi Arabia Condemns Israeli Violations, Statements On Philadelphia Axis – Al Arabiya
The Kingdom’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel’s “absurd attempts to justify the continuous Israeli violations of international laws and norms,” in a statement posted on X.
The Saudi statement also warned of the consequences of Israel’s “provocative statements” in undermining the mediation efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire and prevent further escalation in the region.
4. EU Expresses Regret That Mongolia Didn’t Arrest Putin On ICC Warrant – RFE/RL
“The EU regrets that Mongolia, a State Party to the Rome Statute of the ICC, did not comply with its obligations under the statute to execute the arrest warrant,” an EU statement said.
Putin met with Mongolian President Ukhna Khurelsukh in Ulan Bator on his first trip to a member state of the ICC since it issued an arrest warrant for him in March 2023. A government spokesman said Mongolia, which is home to more than 3 million people and borders Russia and China, cannot arrest Putin because it is energy-dependent.
5. Putin Orders Russian Scientists To Urgently Develop An ‘Anti-Ageing’ Cure: Report – NDTV
President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian scientists to fast-track the development of a revolutionary anti-aging treatment that could help tackle the country’s declining life expectancy.
The health ministry’s June directive, which was revealed through investigative reporting by Meduza and Sistema, has taken leading medical researchers by surprise. According to the investigation, the goal is to “save 175,000 lives” by 2030.
6. Ukraine Ministers Resign As Government Reshuffle Expected – BBC
The resignations leave some of the government’s top jobs vacant, including the strategic industries minister in charge of weapons production.
The changes come as the parliamentary leader of the ruling Servant of the People party said half of the cabinet would be changed in a major government reshuffle this week. In addition to the officials who handed in their resignations, one of the president’s most senior aides, Rostyslav Shurma, was also dismissed as per a presidential decree.
7. Trump Claims To Have Guaranteed Plan To End Ukraine War, Will Reveal Only If Elected – AFP
“If I win, as president-elect, I’ll have a deal made, guaranteed. That’s a war that shouldn’t have happened,” Trump said on the Lex Fridman podcast released.
“I have a very exacting plan for how to stop Ukraine and Russia, And I have a certain idea – maybe not a plan, but an idea – for China,” he added. “But I can’t give you those plans because if I give you those plans, I’m not going to be able to use them; they’ll be very unsuccessful. You know, part of its surprise, right?”
8. China Hits Back At Canada EV Tariffs With Canola Probe – BBC
China has announced a probe of Canadian canola imports, escalating a trade fight between the two countries.
The move, which could lead to tariffs on a key Canadian export, came a week after Canada said it would impose new border taxes on Chinese-made electric vehicles, steel and aluminum. Beijing also said it would file a complaint with the World Trade Organization over the EV tariffs, which it criticized as “discriminatory” and “unilateral.”
9. ‘Chinese Spy Mayor’ Wanted By Philippines Arrested – BBC
A former Philippine mayor, Ms. Alice Guo, who was on the run for weeks after being accused of spying for China, has been arrested in Indonesia.
She has been accused of protecting online casinos, which were a front for scam centers and human trafficking syndicates in her sleepy pig-farming town, Bamban. Ms Guo denies the allegations.
10. China, Tanzania, Zambia Sign Initial Agreement On Key Railway Project – Reuters
Chinese state media, CCTV, reported that President Xi Jinping witnessed the signing of the memorandum of understanding on a Tanzania-Zambia railway project with the Tanzanian and Zambian presidents, who were in Beijing attending the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.
Earlier this year, the World Bank approved $270 million in financing to help improve connectivity between neighbors Tanzania and Zambia and boost regional trade.
11. About 600 Russian Tourists Visited North Korea Since February: Report – RFA
According to the TASS news agency, the region’s tourism minister, Natalia Naboychenko, said most of the visitors traveled to the capital, Pyongyang, and the city of Rason from the far eastern Russian region of Primorsky Krai.
Russia and North Korea have agreed to build a new road bridge connecting their countries over the Tumen River in North Korea’s northeast, raising the prospect of a trade and tourism boost.
12. Venezuela: Maduro Moves Christmas To October Amid Turmoil – D.W.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared that he would issue a decree to move Christmas to October 1.
The president’s decision is seen as a move to distract people from the turmoil that has engulfed the country following July’s contested presidential election. This is not the first time Maduro has moved up Christmas to an earlier date. He also did so during the COVID-19 pandemic.
13. Argentina: Court Blocks Milei Move To Privatize Football – D.W.
A Buenos Aires court blocked Argentinian President Javier Milei’s attempt to allow the country’s member-controlled football clubs to pass into private ownership by emergency decree.
Milei came to power pledging to tackle Argentina’s economic crisis by making massive cuts to public spending and privatizing whole swathes of the public sector. The right-wing libertarian wants to apply the approach to football, too, with Argentina’s most popular sport ravaged by poor financial management and corruption, and in need of investment in key infrastructure.
14. Regular Cell Phone Use Can Increase Cardiovascular Disease Risk, Study Says – UPI Health
Using a mobile phone regularly can greatly raise the risk of cardiovascular diseases, particularly in current smokers and diabetics, a new study shows.
The findings, published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, also revealed that regular cell phone use, which impacts poor sleep and mental health, contributes to this increased risk.
Cell Phones emit radiofrequency electromagnetic fields that can disrupt a complex system of organs, such as the heart and blood vessels, that work in tandem to regulate the body’s stress response, the study’s corresponding author, Dr. Xianhui Qin, said.
Republished with permission from TIPP Insights
