With just over a month to go before the midterm elections, President Donald Trump’s approval ratings on the economy have hit an all-time low and are rivaling those of his predecessor, Joe Biden.
According to the Associated Press, citing the most recent AP-NORC poll, just 26 percent of respondents approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, and just 17 percent approve of his handling of the cost-of-living issue.
President Donald Trump delivers the Commencement address at the graduation ceremony for the University of Alabama, Thursday, May 1, 2025, at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
President Donald Trump is joined by White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council Executive Director Scott Turner, Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, for an announcement that Washington, D.C. will host the 2027 NFL Draft, Monday, May 5, 2025, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)
That’s especially notable given the major role inflation and the cost of living played in Trump’s election victory two years ago.
In addition, per the AP-NORC poll, 65 percent of respondents say higher-than-usual prices are “the result of Trump’s policies,” rather than factors beyond the president’s control.
Four years ago, the poll said only 44 percent of respondents blamed higher-than-usual prices on then-President Joe Biden’s policies.
In addition, 69 percent of those polled, including 52 percent of Republicans, said his handling of the cost-of-living issue has been “worse than expected.”
That suggests Trump has disappointed some voters who voted for him in 2024.
A recent Economist/YouGov poll showed that about a third of voters who supported Trump in 2024 think the economy is getting worse.
Most voters say the local and national economies, as well as the country as a whole, are worse off since Trump returned to office.
Voters also aren’t happy with Trump’s trade policies.
Of those surveyed, 68 percent disapprove of how he has handled negotiations with other countries, while more than half (58 percent) say his trade policy handling has been worse than they expected.
Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed, 64 percent, say “his imposition of new tariffs on other countries has gone too far.”
The number for Trump is even worse when it comes to the war in Iran, with 71 percent of respondents disapproving of how Trump is handling Iran, and 69 percent consider the war “not worth fighting.”
Axios reported that this poll aligns with other recent polling on Trump’s economic performance, most of which have shown Trump’s approval rating on the economy as “somewhere from the high 20s to the high 30s.”
Why It’s So Bad
Why is Trump’s approval rating on the economy so bad when the stock market has gone up, unemployment has stayed relatively low, and there hasn’t been a recession?
As with the Biden presidency, voters have become conditioned to tie inflation and prices to overall economic health.
Americans notice the effects of high prices every day, especially when they buy food or fill up their cars with gas.
And this has especially hurt Trump because the increases in prices can so closely be tied to his own signature policies: His tariffs have led directly to price increases on certain items, especially food, while there is a clear straight line from Trump’s decision to invade Iran to the closing of the Strait of Hormuz to the sustained increase in gas prices.
And Trump spent the 2024 campaign not only promising to reduce the inflation of the Biden years, but also promising to avoid new, open-ended foreign wars.
In nearly two years back in office, Trump has not kept either promise.
A Midterm Bloodbath?
According to the RealClearPolitics average, Democrats have led on the generic congressional ballot consistently throughout the year and have reached a new yearly high, at over 50 percent.
The site also reports Democratic Senate candidates are leading polling averages in Michigan, Texas, Iowa, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, and Alaska, all states Trump won in the 2024 election.
However, Trump, who has a history of dismissing bad polls and even suing a pollster in one case, told reporters this week he’s not worried.
According to Politico, the president told reporters that he grades himself an A+ across the board.
“I give us an A+ on the government, on economics, on everything,” Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday.
He also predicted gas prices would soon drop, although an agreement with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz doesn’t appear imminent.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
