Independents Have Little Trust, but Pick Trump Over Biden on Economy

by Casey Harper

Newly released polling data spells bad news for President Joe Biden this election year.

Gallup released new polling data that showed independent voters trust former President Donald Trump more than Biden when it comes to the economy. About 34 percent of independents say they trust Biden to do the right thing for the economy, compared to 45 percent who trust Trump.

Naturally, Republicans trust Trump more and Democrats trust Biden more, but the important swing-vote independents? They chose Trump.

“Partisans have little to no confidence in the opposing party’s leaders,” Gallup said. “While political independents are not overly confident in any of the leaders, they have the most confidence in Trump.”

That poll comes after Gallup reported that Americans’ overall optimism about the economy has declined.

As The Center Square previously reported, economic confidence declined among Americans for the first time in seven months. Inflation remains elevated and has picked up speed in recent weeks, raising eyebrows among economists.

Meanwhile, the latest U.S. Gross Domestic Products figures show that in the first three months of the year, the U.S. economy underperformed expectations.

Biden’s numbers are lower than many previous presidents in recent history, though Biden has bounced back somewhat since inflation had slowed from its breakneck pace earlier in his term.

Despite Trump’s better numbers among independents, on the whole Americans have little trust in anyone to do the right thing on the economy.

“Forty-six percent of U.S. adults say they have ‘a great deal’ or ‘a fair amount’ of confidence in Trump to do or recommend the right thing for the economy, while fewer say the same of Biden (38 percent), [Federal Reserve Chair Jerome] Powell (39 percent), and Democratic (38 percent) and Republican (36 percent) leaders in Congress,” Gallup said.

– – –

Casey Harper is a D.C. Bureau Reporter at The Center Square.
Photo” Donald Trump” by Daniel Scavino Jr..