During an interview with “PBS NewsHour” on Wednesday, President Joe Biden reacted to poor polling numbers by stating that “polls don’t matter anymore.” And that if you ask people what they think, they support a lot of his policies, the country took a hit over the last several years, and the news media don’t report on enough positive things.
Host Judy Woodruff asked, “[T]he picture you painted last night, unemployment at a record low, the growth [in] the economy…inflation is coming down, incomes are rising. And yet, when you mention the polls, when you look at the polls, a CBS poll, 64% of Americans think the economy’s in bad shape. There’s an NBC poll, 71% think the country’s on the wrong track. Why the disconnect?”
Biden responded, “Because the polls don’t matter anymore. You’ve got to make, what? 40 or 50 calls on a cell phone to get someone to answer a poll. Even the pollsters — you’ve talked to them. Ask them what they think about this sort of thing.”
Woodruff then cut in to ask, “So you don’t think it’s your policy?”
Biden responded, “By the way, if you ask the same thing, do they support rebuilding infrastructure in America? Overwhelmingly they support it, ask anybody. Do they support the CHIPS and Science Act? We’ve attracted $300 billion in investments. We invented these chips. They’re coming back to America. We’re going to be the leaders again. When you ask them about whether or not they think they’re paying too much for drug prices, overwhelmingly yes. … Look, people went through hell the last several years, the last five years. In the pandemic, we lost a million people, dead. And so, every time you turn on the news, are any of you reporting any positive news? I [don’t] mean you personally, editorially. And so, you turn on the television and everything’s down. And so, people, understandably, are down.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.