Voters in the battleground state of Wisconsin told CBS News on Friday that they were “unconvinced” that the pandemic, rather than President Biden’s policies, was the cause of inflation because prices were “still rising.”
CBS News White House correspondent Nancy Cordes asked Milwaukee voters how they felt about the economy. When it comes to inflation, How much of that do you think is due to the aftereffects of the pandemic, and how much of that is due to President Biden’s policies? ”
“It’s been years since the pandemic. I don’t buy that anymore,” said Wisconsin voter Patti Granger. “That’s what I thought at first, but I won’t buy it anymore. The price of yogurt is still going up. I won’t buy it anymore.”
Wisconsin voter Patti Granger said rising prices years after the pandemic may have given Biden an advantage in the past, but it’s a bridge too far. (CBS News)
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Another voter interviewed on camera, Bobby Tatum, appeared to say he still supported Biden, saying, “We’re still in the aftermath. We’re still… we haven’t been since the pandemic. There’s just a lot going on.”
Mr. Cordes reported speaking with three voters. While they agreed that “the economy is a big issue for everyone,” they remained divided on who they would vote for and why they thought the economy was still struggling in the first place.
Wisconsin is a key battleground state where Biden and former President Trump are tied in a head-to-head contest, according to the latest Fox News poll. Trump won Wisconsin by about 23,000 votes in 2016, but Biden won by about 21,000 votes in 2020.
In contrast, Wisconsin voter Bobby Tatum argued that “we’re still reeling from the aftermath” and “there’s just a lot of stuff still happening since the pandemic.” (Wisconsin voter Bobby)
Nationally, food prices have soared The inflation rate since the start of 2021 has exceeded 21%, higher than the overall inflation rate of 18% for the same period. Although the pace of food price increases has slowed in recent months, the overall cost of many grocery store staples remains high. Experts say relief for consumers is unlikely to come soon.
Do Americans agree with Biden’s economic outlook?
“It’s very unlikely that prices will go back to normal before people feel any real relief from the spike in inflation, especially in food,” Robert Frick, a corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, told FOX Business. It will take two to three years,” he said.
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According to a Fox News poll released on March 3, 61% of voters said Biden is failing to handle the economy.
FOX News’ Megan Henney contributed to this report.
