Trump Economic Approval Drops to 26% in AP-NORC Poll as 65% Blame His Policies for Inflation

Record low economic approval ratings

A new poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research indicates that public approval of President Donald Trump's economic management has fallen to fresh lows weeks before the midterm elections. Only 17% of American adults approve of the president's handling of the cost of living, while 26% approve of his stewardship of the broader economy. That figure represents a 14 percentage point drop since March 2025. Overall, 31% of respondents approve of Trump's performance in office, and 74% state that the economy is leaning poorly. Furthermore, 65% of adults attribute persistently high prices directly to Trump's policies rather than outside factors, exceeding the 44% who blamed Joe Biden's policies during the post-pandemic inflation peak in mid-2022.

Voter discontent over gas, groceries, and trade

Household budgets face sustained pressure from consumer price inflation holding at 3.4% and gasoline prices exceeding $4 per gallon across the country. Approximately half of surveyed adults report being extremely or very concerned about fuel expenses, an increase from 39% recorded in July, while a matching share expresses severe worry over food costs. Discontent has also reached conservative voters, with about 6 in 10 Republicans now disapproving of Trump's handling of living expenses, up from roughly half in April. Among his supporters, 52-year-old California law enforcement officer Pedro Sanchez noted that fuel costs have eroded his disposable income. Robert Gault, a 66-year-old retired factory worker and Republican from Bradford, Pennsylvania, expressed similar disappointment with the administration's trajectory.

Our president, I thought, was going to help the country, and so far he has not really seemed to have done that with the economy or in general. He's not really done what I was hoping he would. He said, 'Make America Great Again.' And I have not seen him do that.

International trade actions have met similar public resistance, with 64% of respondents stating that Trump went too far with new tariffs and only about 3 in 10 approving of his trade approach.

Shifting timelines on the Iran conflict

Foreign policy disputes have added to public frustration during seven months of active military engagement with Iran. Roughly 69% of adults believe the war with Iran was not worth fighting, while approval of Trump's handling of Iran stands at 28%. In March 2026, Trump projected the military confrontation would last four to five weeks, before announcing late that month that operations would wind down within two to three weeks. In May 2026, Trump asserted that a negotiated settlement was nearly finalized. In a subsequent interview, Trump dismissed criticisms over the extended engagement, stating he chose to extend military operations deliberately.

Oval Office reaction and media confrontation

During a contentious Oval Office interview with Time magazine, Trump rejected the polling data and attacked the surveyed metrics as inaccurate. He asserted that the United States maintains the strongest economy and claimed he would defeat any hypothetical political challenger by 20 percentage points.

They're fake numbers. I would beat anybody running today by 20 points. Your numbers, that you have, are fake. The pollsters are corrupt. They're almost as corrupt as the writers.

Trump also refused to rule out declaring a national state of emergency ahead of the midterm elections. During the exchange, he voiced anger at media coverage, defended taxpayer-free White House renovations as a symbol of national greatness, and criticized Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett for ruling against his administration.