U.S. President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy has reached a new low, according to a new AP-NORC poll.
The President has the backing of just 26% of all Americans polled in the survey, released on Thursday, 1st October.
President Donald J. Trump greets Ambassadors David Perdue and Xie Feng, Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ma Zhaoxu and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi at Beijing Capital International Airport, China on Friday, May 15, 2025, before boarding Air Force One en route Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks on the economy at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York on Friday, May 22, 2026.(Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)
It’s an embarrassing moment for Trump ahead of next month’s midterm elections.
“It’s the Economy, Stupid!”
A key part of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign was his heavy criticism of his predecessor, Biden, for how he handled the economy.
Biden struggled after the pandemic, as inflation hit record highs and fueled cost-of-living concerns.
His mid-2022 polling sank as low as 28% on the economy.
Surprisingly, the headline figures look rather strong for America at the moment. Economic growth is promising and surpassing previous estimates, while unemployment is falling.
Barring a short-term spike in May, inflation has remained relatively stable at around 3.5%.
By contrast, inflation peaked at 9.1% under President Biden and did not drop below 4% for two years from April 2021.
Yet, President Trump’s approval of his economic handling is lower than his once-rival’s, at 26%, according to the AP-NORC poll.
While Democrats are nearly unanimous in their disapproval of the President, only 57% of Republicans back his economic control.
Other Issues
The President’s handling of other matters has not seen overwhelming support.
The cost of living is by far his worst metric, with just 17% (and 38% of Republicans) approving of performance in that area.
Similar results can be found on the Iran war (26% overall, 60% of Republicans), which has been attributed by the President himself to rising diesel prices.
Trump has the backing of 30-40% of Americans on artificial intelligence, trade policy, climate change, and immigration.
He’s performing strongest on border security, according to the poll, with 48% of all respondents approving of his efforts to secure the border.
Interestingly, Trump is receiving more of the blame for rising living costs than his predecessor.
65% of respondents blamed Trump’s policies for persistently high costs, while only 44% cited Biden’s policies for high prices in October 2022.
Trump enjoys more sympathy from Republicans, with 67% blaming factors outside his control rather than his decision-making.
Voters Struggling
Nevertheless, voters are struggling with persistently high costs, with about 70% of all U.S. voters believing the President’s handling of the cost of living has been “worse than expected,” including nearly half of all Republicans, who cited concerns about grocery and gas prices.
“Groceries are just kind of out of control. It seems like everything is going up,” said Bethany Lnenicka, 41, to the Associated Press.
The three-time Trump voter added: “It’s just one thing, and the next week it’s another thing. It’s just insane. And, of course, your income doesn’t go up. I just do not feel like it has gotten a lot better.”
66-year-old Republican voter Robert Gault was also critical. “I was hoping it would be better or different, but it’s not really good,” he said. “Our president, I thought, was going to help the country, and so far he has not really seemed to have done that with the economy or in general. He’s not really done what I was hoping he would. He said, ‘Make America Great Again.’ And I have not seen him do that.”
GOP voters were divided on whether Trump is to blame for the state of the economy.
41-year-old Republican voter Kristen Slaven said she “had hoped it would be better,” adding: “Obviously wars don’t help. When they’re necessary, I understand. But our focus on renaming bodies of water and pieces of land, that’s just stupid to me when people can’t feed their family.”
However, 51-year-old republican Fred Naumann was more sympathetic, stating that tariffs and the war with Iran were necessary. “I think inflation is a very difficult thing to tackle,” he added.
Midterms Approaching
The poll follows a recent trend of growing disapproval for the President ahead of next month’s midterm elections.
The Democrats lead by nine percentage points in the generic congressional ballot – the largest lead of the campaign so far.
To support his party despite his own declining popularity, Trump has planned an aggressive campaigning schedule over the next month, visiting 35 battlegrounds before the vote on Tuesday, 3rd November.
The AP-NORC poll was conducted between Thursday, 24th and Monday, 28th September. It polled 2,140 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of +/- 2.9%.
About the Author: Shay Bottomley
Shay Bottomley is a British journalist. He has written for the Western Standard, Business Insider, Maidenhead Advertiser, Slough Express, Windsor Express, Berkshire Live and Southend Echo.
