According to CNBC Poll, Small Business Owners Are Skeptical of Biden’s Economic Plan

President Joe Biden’s message about the effectiveness of Bidenomics is falling flat among small business owners nationwide, according to a poll released Friday.

The nationwide online poll of 2,041 self-identified small business owners ages 18 and older by CNBC/SurveyMonkey showed 30% approved of Biden’s performance as president. The poll was conducted Nov. 16-21 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points.

Of those polled, 13% strongly approved of Biden’s performance, with 17% somewhat approving. A total of 68% disapproved of Biden’s performance, with 56% strongly disapproving.

The poll mirrors an NBC News national poll released Nov. 19 that showed Biden with a 40% approval rating among all voters, a record low for his presidency, according to NBC. That poll also showed former President Donald Trump with a 46%-44% lead over Biden in a head-to-head matchup in the 2024 presidential election.

In the CNBC poll, 48% of small business owners who identified as Democrats described the economy as good, 29% described it as fair and 11% as poor. Democrats were also less likely (69%) to say their party will do more to help small business owners than Republicans (86%) who say the same about the GOP.

“Inflation and interest rates remain primary reasons for Biden’s struggles to gain more support from the small business community,” the poll said. “After the most aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes in decades, many small businesses are faced with double-digit percentage loans, if they can even access lending in a much tighter banking and credit environment.”

Inflation has dropped from 7.7% at this time last year to 3.2%, according to the U.S. Inflation Calculator. But the poll showed 70% of small business owners, including 43% of Democrats, said inflation has not peaked. Also, 70% of small business owners, including 54% of Democrats and 70% of independents, said they are still experiencing a rising cost of supplies.