Trump poll numbers on economy fall during trade fight, surveys find
President Donald Trump‘s poll numbers on the economy have fallen as his administration continues trade negotiations on his wide-ranging reciprocal tariffs approach.
Approximately 55% of Americans think Trump’s policies “worsened economic conditions in the country,” according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS between April 17-24. That marked an increase from 51% of respondents who said so when the pollster last asked the same question between March 6-9.
Approximately 60% of Americans believe Trump’s policies have “affected the cost of living” in their communities, while just 12% say they think Trump’s policies have decreased the cost of living. The poll found 28% of Americans think Trump’s policies have had no effect on the cost of living in their communities so far.
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Just 34% of Americans described themselves as enthusiastic or optimistic about the economy right now, while 66% of respondents said they were pessimistic or afraid. The poll found 69% of Americans believe it is very or somewhat likely the U.S. economy will go into a recession in the next year.
According to the CNN poll, 75% of Americans believe Trump’s policies on tariffs will hurt the U.S. economy in the short term, while just 12% said they would help in the short term. Meanwhile, 53% of Americans believe Trump’s policies on tariffs will hurt in the long term, while 34% of Americans say they will help in the long term.
A separate poll, conducted by NPR/PBS News/Marist from April 21-23, found 45% of Americans give Trump a failing grade as he celebrates his 100th day in office. The pollster said that figure was “driven mainly by Democrats (80%).”
That survey found 55% of respondents disapprove of how Trump is handling the economy, including 88% of Democrats, 59% of independents, and 17% of Republicans.
With just 39% of Americans approving of his handling of the economy, Trump’s overall approval rating sits at 42% – down from the 45% who approved of the job he was doing in March, according to NPR/PBS News/Marist.
About 61% of Americans believe Trump has been “rushing to make changes” without considering the consequences of those shifts – a significant uptick from the 56% of respondents who said so in March, according to the pollster.
Ahead of his 100th day in office, Trump warned, however, that “the Polls from the Fake News are, like the News itself, FAKE! We are doing GREAT, better than ever before.”
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“The USA lost Billions of Dollars A DAY in International Trade under Sleepy Joe Biden,” Trump wrote on TRUTH Social. “I have now stemmed that tide, and will be making a fortune, very soon. Stay tuned as we MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
The Trump administration’s reciprocal tariffs policies and deregulation plans have brought with them significant disturbances in the market.
Joined by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at Tuesday’s briefing commemorating the 100th day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the American people should “trust President Trump” on the economy.
“There’s a reason he was reelected to this office. It’s because of the historic success of his economic formula in the first term,” Leavitt said. “There’s a proven formula that works. Massive deregulation, energy independence and tax cuts, which are coming in…. If you want to talk about that, that’s a huge deal to put more money back into the pockets of hardworking Americans.”
As for the trade deals, Leavitt said the president is working to right the wrongs “of the mess that he inherited” from the Biden administration, as well as a “mess that has been created for the past four decades that has sold out the middle class.”
“Today, President Trump wants to restore the golden age, and it’s a process to do that. And that process is underway,” Leavitt said.
Bessent said he was working with Republican leadership in the House and the Senate on a new bill that would make the 2017 tax cuts permanent and hopefully quell some of the uncertainty in the markets as a result.
“I think one thing that has been a little disconcerting for the market is, you know, President Trump creates what I would call strategic uncertainty in the negotiations. So he is more concerned about getting the best possible trade deals we have for the American people. You know, we had four years of bad deals for decades,” Bessent said. “We are going to the unwind those and make them fair.… We’ve created a process.”
“I think the aperture of uncertainty will be narrowing and as we start moving forward with announcing deals, then there will be certainty. But, you know, certainty is not necessarily a good thing in negotiating,” he added.
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