President Joe Biden is met with the challenge of reassuring voters his economic agenda is effective and that he is capable of another four years in office during Thursday’s State of the Union address.

While 57% of people would describe the economy as “very bad” or “fairly bad” headed into the president’s speech, 39% would describe it as “very good” or “fairly good,” which is up from 37% who felt the same last year, according to a new CBS News/YouGov poll. 

When asked how respondents would describe the state of the country if they were to give their own State of the Union address, 61% said “divided,” and 44% said “declining.” Very few people described the state of the country in a positive light, while 37% described the nation as “weak.” 

The economy slowed during the final three months of 2023, but it grew at a 2.5% rate from January through December last year. Despite inflation dropping and promises to build the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, Biden’s plan, “Bidenomics,” is not resonating with voters.

The inflation rate fell to 3.1% in January, the lowest it has been since June, but prices are still above pre-pandemic levels. Gregory Daco, the chief economist at EY-Parthenon, a consulting firm, told CBS News that inflation has been a significant topic of discussion since Biden has been in office, unlike under former President Donald Trump, who only handled the early effects of the pandemic. 

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“We’re coming out of an environment where inflation has become a key topic, a key issue, a key point of conversation, whereas it wasn’t for most of the three decades that preceded the pandemic,” Daco said. “It’s gone from a nonissue to an essential issue, and that for me is the key reason people are feeling more downbeat than economic conditions would dictate.”

While skeptical voters continue to sound the alarm over the economy, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients told Axios that Biden will highlight “where the economy was three years ago when the president walked into office, where we are now and where we’re headed — what his vision is for the economy,” during his third State of the Union address.