Who Would Be Blamed for a Debt Default?

A new Fox News poll finds 47% of respondents would blame President Biden for the U.S. defaulting on its debt, while 44% said it would be the GOP’s fault.

Aaron Blake: “The blame question was somewhat close early in the 2011 fight, but polling soon showed voters preparing to blame Republicans more by 15 points, 18 points and even 21 points. Things were a bit closer in 2013, when a debt ceiling fight was paired with a government shutdown. But polling at the tail end showed a clear edge for Democrats.”

“Were the splits today similar to then, you might see a more hard-line approach from Biden and the Democrats because they would be more confident that Republicans might own whatever adverse outcome would result and would have to back down. But the current numbers apparently don’t instill such confidence, which Biden seemed to subtly nod to this weekend.”