Leftist media notices that Biden has a Build Back Better problem

After months of Democratic lawmakers and media pushing the benefits of the Build Back Better Agenda, only a minority of the American public appear to support the plan.

In a NPR/Marist national poll released on Thursday, they revealed that Americans have mixed opinions on Biden’s keystone social safety net legislation. NPR reports that the poll signals "major warning signs for Biden and fellow Democrats."

41 percent of respondents said that they support the legislation. 34 percent said that they opposed it, while a notable 25 percent said they were unsure about it.

74 percent of Democrat respondents said they supported the bill, compared to just 13 percent of Republicans, and 36 percent of independents.

51 percent said they were pessimistic that the legislation would lower inflation, which has beens steadily rising throughout the Biden presidency.

Nearly half, 46 percent, said they are optimistic that the legislation would help create better paying jobs. Another 46 percent said that they were pessimistic that the legislation would help people like them.

"They [Democrats] don't have a unified message for what they're doing, and that does not bode well for the party," said Barbara Carvalho, director of the Marist Poll.

The Build Back Better legislation fared worse than the recently passed Infrastructure bill, where 56 percent of respondents said they supported it.

56 percent, though, said that they were pessimistic that the bill would lower inflation, but 53 percent were optimistic that it would create better paying jobs.

69 percent said the legislation would make process towards improving roads and bridges.

Democratic lawmakers have pushed the Build Back Better legislation in recent months, with many top figures, including President Biden, stating that the bill would not add to the deficit, or add taxes to those making lower incomes.

"They don't add a single penny to the deficit," he said in October. "And they don't raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 a year. In fact, they reduce the deficit."

President Biden received little credit for getting $1,400 stimulus checks to Americans early in his presidency, an incentive that he spearheaded. Just 17 percent believed Biden was responsible, with the majority, 40 percent, saying that Democrats in Congress were responsible.

A notable 17 percent said that Republicans were responsible for the checks going out, though no Republicans voted for the measure.

"It doesn't look like he's leading the charge even though it's his bill," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. "It's an issue of the messaging out of the White House."

In a November poll from NPR/Marist, respondents said that inflation was their number one concern at the moment. The December survey showed that Americans doubt these large scale bills will help address this issue.

"They're [Democrats] not connecting the dots between concern about inflation and what's happening in Washington, either with the infrastructure bill or Build Back Better," Carvalho said, who said this should "absolutely" be a red flag for the party.

Biden also scored low in his job approval, with just 42 percent stating that they approve. This marks the lowest number, tying with November’s results, during the duration of his presidency so far.

Of those that disapproved, 38 percent said they strongly disapproved. While 76 percent of Republicans strongly disapproved of the job Biden is doing, only 38 percent of Democrats strongly approved.

The NPR/Marist poll was conducted between November 30 and December 6, 2021, with 1,172 survey takers.