Nothing focuses the minds of American voters more than an economy gone sour.
As voters watch their chances of living the American dream dwindle — the price of homes, gas, cars, food, and other necessities skyrocketing; good-paying full-time jobs disappearing; and layoffs spreading throughout the economy — they just want to make the pain go away.
And the easiest way for citizens to rid themselves of this pain is to vote out of power its perceived cause: the sitting president and his party.
Americans forced out of office Herbert Hoover in 1932 because they blamed him for the Depression. Jimmy Carter lost the presidency in 1980 because of high inflation and recurring recessions. George H.W. Bush’s 1992 re-election bid was doomed by high unemployment and tax hikes. In 1932 and 1980, the economy also cost the president’s party control of the House and Senate.
In 2024, Joe Biden will be confronted with an election problem Hoover, Carter, and Bush didn’t have. He has the unenviable task of running not just against a faltering economy, but also an opponent Americans believe created a prosperous economy: his predecessor, Donald J. Trump.
When Americans elected Biden in 2020, their message to him was clear: Trump handed you a booming economy. Just don’t do anything to ruin it!
Unfortunately, Biden has done just that, and Americans have taken notice.