It was a nice campaign theme, but as President Biden enters his third week, the nation isn’t sold on his promise of “unity.”
In his latest Zogby Poll, pollster Jonathan Zogby told us that 44% of likely voters believe the new Democratic president can unite the country. But 39% don’t, and another 17% are unsure.
Much of Biden’s base is hopeful, yet Zogby found unexpected doubts among younger voters and women.
“While the Democratic base believed the new president can pull off the difficult task of bridging the political divide in the United States, surprisingly, two groups who really helped Biden secure the presidency had the least faith in his ability to unite the country: voters under the age of 50 and suburban women,” Zogby said in his analysis shared with Secrets.
“Do they doubt his ability to cross the aisle and be the deal-maker of yonder, or do younger and suburban voters believe the political fractures are too deep to heal? President Biden has a tough task in front of him, and one that will undoubtedly test his will and the soul of the nation,” Zogby said.
Biden has crafted a history of making deals during his decades in the U.S. Senate. He, at times, played critical roles helping President Barack Obama with Congress when he was vice president.
Since he returned from the field with his Zogby Analytics survey, Biden’s unity effort has been sidelined as he’s signed dozens of executive orders aimed at pausing or erasing several Trump administration initiatives.
What’s more, in the last few days, he has signaled that the White House is ready to push through a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package without Republican support. He told reporters, “I support passing COVID relief with support from Republicans, if we can get it. But COVID relief has to pass. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts.”
On Monday, he is meeting with several GOP lawmakers who prefer spending just $600 billion.
The scuffle over Biden’s plan and the division following the election likely also helped to push the right direction/wrong direction index to new lows. In an additional question posed by Zogby, his poll found that a whopping 61% believe the country is heading in the wrong direction. Just 29% see it heading in the right direction.
“Due to the many issues plaguing the nation right now, it’s not surprising voters would think things are off on the wrong track,” said Zogby’s analysis.
“To put voters’ sentiment in perspective and to understand the context of the current right direction/wrong track numbers, we have to go back three presidents and to our catalog of data on the direction of the U.S. During the Bush years, which were ripe with controversy and political rancor, the right direction number dipped to 16%/74% wrong track during May and June of 2008, and during the Obama presidency, the right direction figure reached 22%/68% wrong track in December 2010 during the Great Recession,” he added.
However, when asked about the future, people are higher on Biden’s potential. In just six more months, 45% expect to feel the country will be headed in the right direction versus 39% fearing it will be on the wrong track.
