Trump’s economic approval hits new low at 36% : NPR

During President Trump's first term, the economy was his relative strength. During the 2024 presidential campaign, his promises to lower prices in a country struggling with post-COVID inflation brought him back to office.

But by the end of his first year in office, only 36% of Americans approve of his approach to the economy, according to the latest data. NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll. This is its worst estimate in the six years that Marist has asked the question.

The only time during this period that Americans were polled as negatively about the president's handling of the economy was February 2022, when Joe Biden was president. Democrats are now slightly more trusted to manage the economy than Republicans – 37% to 33%. That's a small margin, but it's a sharp turnaround from Republicans' 16-point lead on the issue in 2022.

The wide-ranging study contains a number of other striking findings about the economic pressures Americans face. The poll found that many Americans are struggling to make ends meet, they are worried about the economic prospects for themselves and the country, and most believe the country is already in a recession – with notable divisions by race, age and gender on many issues.

The White House recognizes the challenge posed by the current economy and is trying to make it the focus of future events. But the president he doesn't have enough work to convince Americans that his administration will make things better. He has struggled to do so, often returning instead to culture war arguments, especially immigration.

Trump's political standing is at its lowest point of his presidency

Trump's manipulation of the economy puts him underwater with several key groups, including some that are important to his coalition. For example, 49% of people living in rural areas disapprove of the job he does in the economy, while only 43% approve; 48% of white women without college degrees disapprove, compared with 41% who approve. In the suburbs, which are often critical in swing districts, disapproval is higher, at 60% to 33%.

In addition to Trump's low approval of his handling of the economy, his overall job approval rating is just 38%. This is the lowest figure of his second term and the lowest figure he has seen in Marist polls since April 2018.

His approval rating didn't rise much higher that year. The last Marist poll before the 2018 midterm elections put it at 41%. That year, Republicans lost 40 seats in the House of Representatives.

The intensity of disapproval of the president is particularly high, with 50% of registered voters saying they strongly disapprove of his actions.

Only 30% of independents and 8% of Democrats approve of Trump's job performance. But, as throughout Trump's tenure in the political arena, he retains strong support from Republicans. According to this poll, 84% of Republicans approve of his job performance. This is 5 points lower than last month, but within the margin of error.

Prices soar as major economic problem

By far the biggest financial factor stressing Americans is prices.

When asked about the main economic problem, 45% of respondents named prices. Nothing else came close: housing was second at 18%, followed by rates at 15% and job security at 10%.

Tariffs are certainly closely related to higher prices under the current administration. Two-thirds of those surveyed said they were very concerned or somewhat concerned about the impact of tariffs on their personal finances.

That's down from 81% in June, but still a significant majority. The recession is caused by the Republicans. In June, 70% of Republicans said they were concerned about the potential impact of tariffs. Now it's just 38%, while large majorities of independents and Democrats continue to say they are concerned.

Most say the country is already in recession

It is not always clear when a country is in recession, but it is marked by a significant decline in economic activity. The technical definition is two consecutive quarters of negative growth, as measured by a country's gross domestic product, or GDP.

This is not where the country is now, although there are signs of a slowing labor market. Only 64,000 jobs were added in November. based on job delay report For example, the unemployment rate released on Tuesday rose to 4.6%.

For many, especially blacks, Hispanics and people under 45, times seem especially tough. Hispanics, for example, were 22 points more likely than whites to say the country was in a recession.

Respondents under 45 were 17 points more likely than respondents over 45 to say the country was in a recession. Women were also 15 points more likely to say this than men.

Prices remain high in many sectors and overall people say affordability is a major issue. In fact, 70% of participants in this survey said that the area they live in is not very affordable or not affordable at all for the average family. That's up from 45% when Marist asked the same question in June. This is a tremendous increase and a sign of how much economic hardship people are feeling.

Republicans and independents were sharply more negative now than in June about the affordability of the area in which they live. In June, by a 64%-36% margin, Republicans said the cost of living was affordable or very affordable. But they were split in this poll: 51% to 49%.

Independents surveyed in June were more positive, with 54% saying the area they live in is affordable. But this figure fell sharply by 30 points.

A significant majority also say the economy simply isn't working for them.

About 6 in 10 said the economy has not performed well for them personally, and even more said their financial situation has gotten worse rather than better over the past year (35% vs. 21%).

There was a sharp inter-party split; Over the last decade or so, it has become commonplace to view the strength of the economy through a political lens, like many other things.

In that poll, a majority of Democrats and independents said the economy was not performing well for them personally, while two-thirds of Republicans said it was.

There were also significant differences by race, age, income, education, and gender. For example, three-quarters of blacks and two-thirds of Hispanics said the economy is not working for them, compared with 56% of white people who said so.

Notably, there was also a sharp divide between men and women without a college degree: 69% of white women without a college degree said the economy wasn't working for them, compared to 51% of white men without a college degree. This split was evident on several issues among this group, which is the core of Trump's coalition.

Many are struggling to make ends meet and are worried about healthcare costs.

Seven in 10 people surveyed said their expenses either equal or exceed their monthly income, and it's much worse for people of color and young people. While 68% of white people fall into this category, much higher percentages of blacks (77%) and Hispanics (78%) said so.

It's a similar story for those who are younger, have lower incomes, or don't have a college degree.

A quarter of people said their expenses consistently exceeded their income, meaning an estimated 64 million adults are accumulating debt each month. The rate is highest among people who earn less than $50,000 a year, white women without college degrees, millennials, blacks, Hispanics and those with children under 18.

This socioeconomic gap is evident throughout the study, including in the question of whether people are satisfied with their savings. Fifty-four percent of whites are at least somewhat satisfied with the amount of money they currently have saved, compared with 41% of blacks and 40% of Hispanics.

Similar differences are evident by age and education, with the gap particularly wide between those with a college degree (60% are satisfied with their savings) and those without a college degree (41%).

The cost of health care is a major concern. In fact, a majority (54%) said they are concerned that their family will not be able to pay for needed health care services in the next year. Again, this rate was highest among blacks (69%), Hispanics (65%), those earning less than $50,000 per year (67%), those under 45 (61%), especially those aged 18–29 (63%) and women (61%).

People are pessimistic about the future and state of the country

As the new year approaches, nearly 6 in 10 said they are more pessimistic about what the world will face in 2026.

Among those who were most pessimistic were Democrats, college-educated white women, independents and Hispanics. Among the most optimistic were Republicans, white evangelical Christians, people living in rural areas, and whites without degrees (especially white men)—all of which tend to be solid groups supporting Trump.

A significant portion of respondents (63%) said the country was heading in the wrong direction, although similar demographic splits were observed.

The survey was conducted from Dec. 8 to Dec. 11 and surveyed 1,440 adults through live interviewers, text messages and online. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percentage points. 1,261 registered voters took part in the survey. Where voters are mentioned, the margin of error is +/- 3.4 percentage points.