In turning the spotlight on Trump’s shortcomings, Biden was trying to close a persistent polling disconnect that has harmed his reelection campaign: Many voters perceive that his predecessor’s record was more robust than his. A new Politico-Morning Consult poll showed that 37 percent of voters believe Trump “has done more to promote infrastructure improvements and job creation,” compared to 40 percent who said the same for Biden. Trump never passed infrastructure legislation, while Biden did.
He “didn’t build a damn thing,” Biden lamented on Wednesday.
Biden has sought to sharpen his economic message in recent weeks, as progress on inflation has stalled and amid polling that’s shown continued difficulty breaking through with voters who are skeptical of the president’s record — or haven’t tuned in to the extent of his accomplishments.
The White House has responded to that stubborn awareness gap by homing in more on specific policies that have produced tangible results, eschewing the focus on “Bidenomics” and the economy’s broader upward trajectory that characterized the early stages of the campaign. During his trip to Wisconsin, Biden did the same, pointing to specifics in his economic plan — from Buy America provisions, to replacing lead pipes, to shepherding in AI manufacturing — that were creating real, localized results.
But it was also, plainly, a campaign address. Biden in his remarks repeatedly denounced Trump for only helping the wealthy and for leaving “a lot of people behind.”
The president remains underwater on voters’ overall trust in his ability to shepherd the economy, hampered by high prices that swing-state voters say continue to stretch their budgets. While inflation has fallen from its highs and wages are still rising, Americans’ focus on the cost of everyday items like groceries and gas has overshadowed economic gains elsewhere.
And it would be difficult for Biden to retain the White House this fall without winning Wisconsin and the other two Great Lakes states — Michigan and Pennsylvania — that make up the so-called Blue Wall. Winning those three would put him on the doorstep of the 270 Electoral College votes even were he to lose the other battleground states. But a loss in any one of them would make the president’s path to victory much more challenging, aides and Democrats concede.
Biden advisers have largely shrugged off the lackluster polling, arguing that the president will make gains on the ground as voters see the results of his economic agenda — and see ads and hear from allies who make the connection between those projects and Biden himself.
