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By Hugh Cameron
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A new poll has revealed growing pessimism about the health of the U.S. economy under Donald Trump, who is falling deeper underwater with voters on key issues amid fears over affordability and the knock-on effects of the Iran war.
In their latest gauge of Americans’ views on the administration, published on Sunday, the Financial Times and Focaldata revealed that only 33 percent of registered voters approved of Trump’s presidential performance—a three-point drop from a month prior and the lowest level since the series began in May.
In addition to general dissatisfaction, 66 percent of the 2,178 adults polled said they believed the U.S. economy was going in the wrong direction, another high for the poll. Meanwhile, Trump’s net approval on “inflation and the cost of living” fell to a record low of 17 percent—with 69 percent disapproving of his job on this front—as support for his approach to “jobs and the economy” slid to its own low of 26 percent.
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Economic Approval Waning
Only 18 percent of Americans now say they feel better off financially than when Trump returned to office last January, down from 32 percent when the pollsters first asked this question in May.
The number who feel worse off, meanwhile, reached 57 percent this month, up from 36 percent, as the share selecting the “about the same” or “don’t know” options fell to 26 percent from 36 percent.
And declining economic confidence has coincided with an uptick in negative sentiment across both parties. Those who say the economy is headed in the wrong direction has risen to 66 percent from 61 percent in May, as disapproval of Trump’s handling of inflation/the cost of living and jobs/the economy climbed to 69 percent from 58 percent, and 58 percent from 51 percent, respectively.
Among Trump voters, 44 percent said that the economy was on the right track—compared to 55 percent in May—with the number holding the opposite view rising to 40 percent from 33 percent. Even among those who identify as “strong” Republicans, only a slim majority of 52 percent said the economy was moving in the right direction—down from 65 percent—compared with 32 percent who disagreed and 15 percent who were unsure.
Midterm Threat
“What's most striking is that his approval is falling fastest among Republicans, 30 percent of whom now view him as a drag on Republican candidates and say he's making it harder for them to win," Patrick Flynn, a senior data journalist at Focaldata, said regarding Trump’s overall popularity.
On inflation, Flynn told Newsweek that inflation and the cost of living were also of note, given that just 37 percent of those who voted for him in 2024 approve of his handling of these issues, and that this is one of only nine areas where he is underwater with those who helped elect him.
“This is driving a Democratic advantage on the issue among the public at large,” Flynn added. “44 percent now say the Democrats would be the best party to handle inflation, giving them a 12-point lead over the Republicans on this issue."
These results have been echoed across a number of polls in recent months, with a clear increase in pessimism since the start of the Iran War in late February, presenting a challenge for the administration and the president’s party given the role economic issues and affordability seem set to play in this year’s elections.
A Harris Poll conducted for The Guardian in early July found that 95 percent of Americans consider the U.S. to be in an affordability "crisis" driven by the rising cost of groceries, gas and other expenses.
Fuel prices remain elevated amid an ongoing bottleneck in the Strait of Hormuz shipping corridor, with diesel surpassing its all-time high last week and now approaching $6 per gallon.
And mid-August polling from the FT and Focaldata revealed that Democrats were more trusted than their opponents when it came to handling the economy—44 percent to 38 percent.
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The latest poll revealed that economic issues are the most important to Americans two months out from the midterms, with 43 percent selecting “inflation and the cost of living” and 31 percent choosing the economy and jobs, followed by war and immigration at 20 percent and 16 percent, respectively.
In response to the latest results, a White House spokesperson told the FT that Trump acknowledged the “temporary disruptions” caused by the war, and that the administration “remains committed to implementing a proven economic agenda of tax cuts, deregulation and energy abundance.”
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The spokesperson also cited August's employment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)—in which job gains came in nearly triple analyst expectations—as proof that “that this agenda continues to create private sector jobs and drive America’s re-industrialisation.”
But Matt Klink, a political consultant and president of Klink Campaigns, told Newsweek back in August that the president “can't bring voters around to his program with rhetoric alone.”
“Economic skepticism is dangerous for the party in power, in this case, the Republicans, because it directly affects the coalition that brought Trump back to power: working-class, rural, and independent voters who expected relief on prices,” he said. “If voters believe costs are still rising and Washington is making excuses, the midterms become a referendum on affordability, and that is a much tougher battlefield for the GOP.”
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Daniel Orton and Cristina Diciu.
Update 9/7/26 12:00 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comments from Patrick Flynn at Focaldata.
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