A new survey finds that the problem that Americans are most likely to consider a very serious problem in 2024 is inflation — and they’re more likely to approve of Donald Trump’s handling of the issue than Joe Biden’s handling of it. Other problems that a majority of Americans consider very serious, including corruption and drug abuse, also are ones that they feel Trump has done a better job handling than Biden. The poll was conducted after Donald Trump's conviction on 34 felony charges, and before the first presidential debate.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Americans say inflation is a very serious problem in the United States. Majorities of Americans say corruption (57%), drug abuse (56%), homelessness (55%), weakening of democracy (54%), and a shortage of affordable housing (54%) are very serious problems for the country. Around half say that violent crime (51%), gun violence (51%), illegal immigration (50%), and poverty (49%) are very serious problems in the U.S. The survey included 25 problems; among them, lack of public transportation (17%) and sexism (22%) were seen as very serious problems by the smallest shares of Americans.
Among Democrats, the issues that the greatest shares describe as a very serious problem are gun violence (76%), climate change (70%), weakening of democracy (63%), and a shortage of affordable housing (63%). The issues that Republicans are most likely to describe as very serious problems are inflation (82%), illegal immigration (79%), drug abuse (64%), and corruption (64%).
Among the biggest gaps in Democrats’ and Republicans’ perception of the seriousness of problems: 70% of Democrats and 10% of Republicans see climate change as a very serious problem, while 25% of Democrats and 79% of Republicans see illegal immigration as a very serious problem.
Which presumptive presidential nominee do Americans feel has done a better job handling the most serious problems facing the nation?
For 23 of the 25 problems polled about, more Americans strongly or somewhat approve of Trump's handling of it as president than of Biden's. The same goes for net approval: On 23 of the problems, the difference between the percentage who approve and disapprove of Trump's handling is greater than the difference for Biden's handling. The two exceptions: a lack of access to health care, and climate change.
The picture is similar when confining the analysis to Americans who consider each problem to be very serious.
On the issue of inflation, 60% of people who say it’s a very serious problem approve of how Trump has handled this issue. Far fewer (15%) approve of how Biden has handled inflation.
Among Americans who think corruption is a very serious problem in the U.S., more approve of Trump’s (44%) handling of the issue than Biden’s (26%). Similarly, among the Americans who think drug abuse is a serious problem, 39% approve of how Trump has handled the issue while 25% approve of how Biden has handled it.
55% of Americans say homelessness is a very serious issue; among this group, just 25% approve of Biden’s handling of homelessness and 29% approve of Trump’s. Americans who consider the weakening of democracy to be a very serious issue are similarly likely to approve of how Biden (39%) and Trump (40%) have handled this issue.
The largest gaps are on the issue of illegal immigration (74% of those who find it an important issue approve of Trump’s handling vs. 14% who approve of Biden’s), climate change (9% approve of Trump’s handling vs. 61% approve of Biden’s handling), and inflation (60% vs. 15%).
Additional YouGov data from a July 2024 survey — conducted after the debate — asked about which of Biden and Trump would better handle 16 issues if elected as president. More Americans think Trump would handle 10 issues better than Biden would; more think Biden would better handle six issues.
Americans are likelier to believe Biden would do a better job than Trump, rather than the reverse, on handling LGBTQ issues (44% vs. 23% who think Trump would do a better job handling this), the environment (42% vs. 29%), health care (40% vs. 33%), and abortion (39% vs. 34%).
Americans are likelier to say Trump would handle immigration better than Biden (47% vs. 27% who think Biden would handle this better). They also are more likely to think Trump would do a better job than Biden on inflation (45% vs. 27%), the economy (45% vs. 31%), China (43% vs. 28%), taxes (42% vs. 32%), and crime (42% vs. 28%).
38% say Biden would do a better job of protecting democracy in the U.S.; 37% say Trump would be better at this. 13% choose neither.
In February 2024, when YouGov asked a nearly identical question, results were similar. Americans thought Biden would do a better job than Trump handling the environment, education, and healthcare. The issues they believed Trump would handle better than Biden included the economy, immigration, China, and inflation.
At that time, fewer Americans (38%) said Biden would do a better job handling LGBTQ issues than say so now (44%).
Related:
- Who wins on policy? American support for Biden's and Trump’s proposals
- How views of Biden and Trump changed after the first debate
- If Biden steps aside, whom Democrats would want to replace him — and how
- How Americans want the government to handle the issues that matter most to them
— Taylor Orth and Carl Bialik contributed to this article
See the results for the June 20 - 22, 2024 and July 1 - 6, 2024 YouGov polls
Methodology: The June 20 - 22, 2024 YouGov poll was conducted online among 1,110 U.S. adult citizens. The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%. The July 1 - 6, 2024 poll was conducted online among 2,272 U.S. adult citizens on two separate surveys from July 1-3, 2024 and July 2-6, 2024. The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 3%. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel using sample matching. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given prior to November 1, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 31% Republican).
Image: Getty (Scott Olson / Staff)
