MSNBC, CNN, WaPo and more worry about Biden’s poll numbers, fret that he isn’t getting enough credit

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MSNBC, CNN, and others fret over Biden’s poll numbers, worry he isn’t getting credit for economy, Ukraine

Liberal media outlets expressed worry that President Biden was not getting credit or receiving a boost in poll numbers for his ‘roaring’ economy or ‘accomplishments’ with Ukraine.

In just the past month, liberal media networks such as MSNBC and CNN, as well as newspapers like Forbes and The Washington Post, expressed concern that President Biden was not seeing a bump in his poll numbers or receiving credit for his response to Ukraine and his impact on the "roaring" U.S. economy. 

MSNBC’s Chuck Todd, on multiple occasions, attempted to paint Biden’s handling of the economy in a positive light despite record inflation, sky-high gas prices and poor poll numbers for the president. 

During a March 1 segment on MSNBC, Todd pointed to a USA Today/Suffolk University poll which indicated 51% of registered voters believed the U.S. economy was in a recession or a depression. He also made note of a Washington Post/ABC News poll in which 75% of polled adults viewed the economy as not so good or poor. 

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Moderator Chuck Todd attends "Meet the Press Film Festival" event during AFI FEST in Los Angeles, California. (Ringo Chiu/Reuters)

Todd immediately defended Biden, claiming that Americans’ views of the Biden economy "do not reflect the job gains or GDP growth" that have been touted by the administration. Moments later, Todd claimed it has "never been easier to get a job." 

After speaking with a panel of guests, Todd circled back to the polls and became visibly frustrated at the idea Americans believe the country is in a recession or depression.

"It’s just not true. This economy’s frustrating. This economy with COVID has been—I’ve got money and I can’t find something. But my God, there’s jobs, there’s good jobs," Todd said as he slammed his hands on the table. 

Less than three weeks later, Todd on NBC’s "Meet the Press" wondered if Biden was being hurt politically because he wasn’t getting a "little bit of an afterglow" in the polls from making good on his promise to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court.

On Monday, MSNBC’s "11th Hour" host Stephanie Ruhle looked to provide "context" and "facts" to her audience when she appeared stumped as to why Biden wasn’t receiving credit for his "wins."

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President Biden speaks about the country's fight against COVID-19 from the White House campus, Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

After reading an "alarming" statistic that Biden’s job approval rating had fallen to the lowest level of his presidency, Ruhle boasted about Biden’s Ukraine response before moving on to the state of the economy. 

"….while inflation here at home is still a big problem, jobless rates are the lowest that they have been in more than 50 years, and the American people recover from COVID-19, so does our economy. But, that is not translating to the American vote," Ruhle said. 

Ruhle then asked MSNBC contributor Charlie Sykes why Biden was not "reaping … the benefits" in the polls.

"These are big wins," she added before allowing Sykes a response. 

Earlier in March following Biden’s State of the Union, Ruhle said the president "needs to do more talking" about his "economic wins" in order to ensure Democrats are not defeated in the midterms. Earlier in the night, she complained about Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, R., talking about inflation and quickly moved the discussion to claim that Biden had created 6.5 million U.S. jobs. 

On March 15, MSNBC guest host Garrett Haake also wondered why Biden had not seen improvement in his poll numbers despite his "popular" stance on Russia's invasion into Ukraine. 

"President Biden’s not getting a Zelenskyy bounce. And when you look at the polling, it’s kind of fascinating," Haake said at the time. 

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Jake Tapper of CNN’s "The Lead with Jake Tapper" speaks onstage during the WarnerMedia Upfront 2019 show in New York City. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for WarnerMedia)

Over on CNN, anchor Jake Tapper said that "one of the problems" Biden has is that he’s not getting credit for "even the things the public likes."

"It’s just a fact," Tapper added. 

Biden’s handling of the economy versus public perception is a topic that digital print and newspapers also seemed adamant about defending the president on. 

MNSBC posted a tweet on Tuesday that stated Biden’s approval rating had fallen to the lowest level of his presidency despite a "booming economy."

During a White House press briefing at the beginning of March, Washington Post reporter Annie Linskey posed this question to Economic Advisers Council Chair Cecilia Rose: "Given the good news that you've mentioned and the trendlines that have been very, very positive, why do you think this president is not getting credit from voters on – for steering the economy in the right direction?"

Multiple other newspapers also printed pieces of a similar sentiment.

At the end of February, Bloomberg published a piece by Nancy Cook and Katie Dmitrieva headlined, "Inflation Pain Means Biden Gets No Credit for Roaring Economy." 

Politico published a similarly titled article with the headline, "Biden's mounting midterm threat: Inflation angst outweighing historic job growth." 

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While the article admits towards its conclusion that Biden’s polling on the economy is "almost universally awful," the piece also offered the administration pieces of advice on how to change public perceptions, such as pointing to the "remarkably resilient performance" on Wall Street as a symbol of corporate and investor "trust in Biden’s leadership."