A recent op-ed penned by MSNBC’s Zeeshan Aleem is shedding new light on new surveys showing Vice President Kamala Harris is surpassing President Joe Biden in approval ratings.
In a poll conducted by Blueprint, registered voters were evenly split, with 50% believing she would do a better job “bringing down prices” on goods and services and 50% believing Trump would be more effective in this area.
“The upside for Harris is huge: Voters do not hold her accountable for Biden’s perceived failures on inflation, and she can run hard on economic messaging,” Blueprint lead pollster Evan Roth Smith told Semafor.
Harris matching Trump on the issue of inflation might not seem like a big win, but it actually is, Aleem writes. He added that numerous polls have indicated that Biden has been perceived as weak against Trump on economic issues, particularly inflation. Despite the fact that inflation has decreased, wages have risen, and the economy is strong by many measures, including a low unemployment rate, Biden struggled to regain voter trust on economic matters. It appears that, for some voters, the memory of high inflation earlier in Biden’s term has lingered and is difficult to shake off, especially with housing inflation remaining high.
“But it looks like Harris might have a chance to instantly shed Biden’s second-biggest political liability — behind only questions about his mental acuity,” he argued.
He continued: “Harris getting an opportunity to reset the Democrats on the economy is an especially big deal because it looms particularly large in the eyes of undecided voters who could play a decisive role in the election. While Biden’s “defense of democracy” narrative played well with the plugged-in Democratic base, less politically engaged voters are more focused on their pocketbooks. If Harris is seen as either not responsible for or less responsible for inflation, it could make them more receptive to her pitch on economic issues.”
Furthermore, “Republicans are starting to roll out attacks on Harris as liable for inflation during Biden’s term; it’s unclear how much of it will stick. Inflation has been notably absent from Harris’ opening case to voters in speeches and her first campaign video,” he writes. “It’s possible she wants to avoid drawing attention to the issue during the initial phase of her campaign, during which she wants to focus in positive terms about her vision for the country and exploit a honeymoon period with the press and the electorate.”
