WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are deeply frustrated by That of President Donald Trump management of the economy and rising prices, with most rating his performance and blaming his policies as rising costs threaten his party’s chances in November.
A new survey from Associated Press-NORC Public Affairs Research Center reveals that only 17% of American adults approve of the Republican president’s management of the cost of living. Only 26% approve of his overall handling of the economy, marking a new low.
A majority, 65 percent, of U.S. adults now blame Trump’s policies for continued high costs more than factors beyond his control, reflecting growing weariness with his aggressive use of tariffs and lingering dissatisfaction with the war with Iran.
The dismal numbers come just weeks before midterm elections which will determine whether Republicans maintain control of Congress and Trump is on the campaign trail with an aggressive schedule gatherings. But Trump – who asked voters pretending he’s on the ballot as he tries to increase turnout — remains deeply unpopular, with even many Republicans blaming him for failing to deliver on promised aid measures.
“I was hoping it would be better or different, but it’s not really good,” said Robert Gault, 66, a retired factory worker from Bradford, Pa., who describes himself as a Republican.
“I thought our president was going to help the country, and so far he doesn’t really seem to have done that with the economy or in general. He hasn’t really done what I was hoping for,” Gault said. “He said, ‘Make America great again.’ And I didn’t see him do that.
Costs weigh on Trump as economic woes continue to manifest
In recent months, Americans have become increasingly concerned about being able to afford basics like groceries and gasoline. About half of U.S. adults now say they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about filling up, up from 39% in July. About half are also very concerned about being able to afford food.
Prices are “extremely exorbitant. The cost of everything is going up because of fuel,” said Pedro Sanchez, 52, of Perris, Calif., who voted for Trump and works in law enforcement. “I used to have a lot more disposable income. I don’t have it anymore. It’s been eaten up by all these increases in the cost of everything.”
Trump’s current approval on the economy represents a 14 percentage point decline from March 2025, just after he took office for the second time. His struggles on this issue mark a significant change from his first term, when the economy was often a strong point.
Trump spent much of the 2024 campaign hammering President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats, on inflation and promising lower prices. Today, his performance arouses widespread disappointment. About seven in ten Americans say Trump’s handling of the cost of living has been “worse than expected.” That includes about half of Republicans, who are also largely concerned about being able to afford groceries and gas.
“Racing is kind of out of control. It seems like everything is going up,” said Bethany Lnenicka, 41, who operates a small farm in Fairfax, Iowa. “It’s just one thing and the next week it’s another. It’s just insane. And of course your income doesn’t increase.”
Politically independent, who generally votes Republican and has voted for Trump three times, Lnenicka said she had hoped her second term would be more like her first.
“I just don’t feel like the situation has improved much,” she said.
According to the new poll, about 6 in 10 Republicans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, up from about half in April.
“We certainly don’t feel like we’re moving in the right direction,” agreed Kristen Slaven, 41, a mental health therapist who lives in Gluckstadt, Mississippi, and generally votes Republican. She said Trump was focused on the wrong things.
“Obviously wars don’t help. When they’re necessary, I understand. But our desire to rename bodies of water and pieces of land, that’s just stupid to me when people can’t feed their families,” she said.
“I had hoped it would be better,” Slaven added.
Some Republicans are still willing to give Trump a break
Despite their frustration, most Republicans, 67%, say factors beyond Trump’s control are more to blame for high prices.
“I think inflation is a very difficult thing to fight,” said Fred Naumann, 51, a Republican and longtime Trump supporter who lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Although he would like to see interest rates lower, Naumann, who works in the auto industry, supports tariffs and war with Iran, believing it was necessary.
However, overall, most Americans, 69%, continue to say the war is not worth fighting, up slightly from 64% in July. Only 28% approve of Trump’s handling of Iran.
Americans are also unhappy with Trump’s trade wars. Only about three in 10 American adults approve of how he is handling trade negotiations with other countries, down from about four in 10 in March. And 64% believe he has “gone too far” by imposing new customs duties on other countries, compared to 58% in January.
Overall, the picture is no better. Only about three in 10 Americans approve of how Trump is handling his job as president. And about 6 in 10 people say the country’s situation as a whole is “good” or “a little” worse than at the start of his second term.
The issue where Trump maintains relative strength is border security, with about half of Americans saying they approve of his performance.
Trump gets more blame than Biden
Trump’s poor rating on the economy rivals Biden’s 28% approval rating in June 2022, when there was record inflation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But Americans were less likely to blame Biden heading into that year’s midterm elections, a stark contrast to the solid majority that now holds Trump responsible. As of October 2022, 44% of Americans said Biden’s policies were responsible for high prices, while 55% placed the blame on factors beyond his control.
Sanchez, a Republican who voted for Trump, blames him, at least in part.
“I think he has a lot to do with it. This war in Iran, the tariffs he’s imposing on other countries, obviously affects us. Those are two things he’s been directly involved in and they directly affect the economy,” he said. “I think with Biden, a lot of things were out of his control. It was all about COVID and how it affected everything else. I don’t think there was much he could have done.”
He had high hopes for Trump’s return. Today, things look worse than under Biden.
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Colvin reported from New York.
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The AP-NORC poll of 2,140 adults was conducted Sept. 24-28 using a sample drawn from NORC’s AmeriSpeak probability panel, designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all adults is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
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