Economy: Trump’s strength yesterday, weakness today.
Reliable polls show that a majority of American voters not only reject this narrative, but also hold his administration primarily responsible for the pressures on livelihoods and the current state of the economy—a growing gap between the White House’s message and the everyday experience of citizens that could become Trump’s political Achilles’ heel in the coming months, especially ahead of the 2026 congressional midterm elections.
“At home, we brought our economy back from the brink of collapse,” Trump recently said.
Vice President J.D. Vance also traveled to Allentown, Pennsylvania, to talk about the White House’s economic outlook. The trip comes just a week after Trump himself traveled to the Keystone State to give economic talks.
But nearly 60 percent of voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, and 65 percent say the U.S. economy is doing “not very well” or “poor,” according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.
The Quinnipiac University poll also found that 57 percent of voters say Trump is largely responsible for the current state of the economy, while 34 percent say former President Joe Biden is.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll last week found that only 31 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the cost of living; That’s up slightly from late November, when it was 26 percent.
Dan Schnorr, a political communications and strategy expert at the University of Southern California, told ABC News that part of the discontent stems from Republican voters, including young working-class men, who continue to feel the pressure of high costs.
“A lot of voters, especially young working-class men, voted for Trump last year because they were unhappy with the inflation under Biden and believed that Trump would make things better. But that hasn’t happened yet, and so we’re seeing their frustration,” he said.
Ryan Mahoney, a Republican strategist and former communications director for the Georgia Republican Party, also told ABC News that the low approval ratings may stem from “a disconnect between the White House and the American people,” particularly in the president’s understanding and empathy for the cost of living pressures that people are facing.