Trump’s approval on the economy just hit its lowest level....

Oritrend blog Trump’s approval on the economy just hit its lowest level of either term — only about 3 in 10 Americans approve.

According to a new AP‑NORC survey, just 31% of U.S. adults say they approve of the way Trump is handling the economy. That’s down from 40% in March and marks the lowest economic rating he’s logged across both his first and second terms. For a politician who has spent years telling voters to judge him by their wallets, it’s a glaring vulnerability heading into the 2026 midterms and beyond.

The problem isn’t that people think nothing good is happening anywhere. It’s that they don’t feel it — and they don’t trust him when he tells them they should.

Seven in 10 Americans now describe the national economy as “poor.” Democrats and independents are especially sour: roughly 8 in 10 in each group say the economy is in bad shape, compared with about 4 in 10 Republicans. People are more likely to say the country and the overall economy are worse off since Trump returned to office in 2025 than better off. About half say the national economy has gotten “somewhat or much worse” under his second term; around 4 in 10 say they and their own families are worse off too.

On costs, the numbers are brutal.

More than half of respondents say Trump has hurt the cost of living so far this term, and about half say the same about the cost of health care. Even on job creation — a place he used to brag about — about 4 in 10 now say he’s made things worse. The AP‑NORC researchers note that Americans care far more about prices than they did during his first term, and they aren’t impressed by his insistence that everything is fine while they watch rent, groceries, and utilities stay higher than when he walked back into the White House.

There’s still a bright spot for him: the border.

Border security remains Trump’s best-rated issue, with around 50% of Americans approving of his handling of it. That includes overwhelming support from Republicans, about a fifth of Democrats, and roughly a third of independents. On immigration overall, though, his numbers have slipped about 10 points since March. Voters are distinguishing between the raw “border security” frame and the broader question of whether his immigration agenda is helping the country.

On the economy, there’s no such distinction in his favor.

In his first term, Trump’s economic approval rating usually hovered closer to half the country, giving him something to point to even when people disliked him on other issues. Now, he’s below 40% on the economy in multiple AP‑NORC readings and deep underwater on costs specifically. His overall job approval is still stuck around 40%, but that topline number hides damage on the one issue he used to lean on hardest.

Partisan gaps are as sharp as ever — and they show why he’s both safe inside his party and exposed outside it.

Roughly 8 in 10 Republicans still approve of his job performance overall, and around 7 in 10 give him good marks on the presidency itself. Many Republicans tell pollsters they like his focus on border security and say they believe he’s “trying to get the country on track,” even if they admit not liking his style. But those same polls show that only about 7% of Democrats approve of his economic management. Independents are closer to Democrats than Republicans: about 7 in 10 disapprove of his overall performance, and similar majorities disapprove of his handling of the economy.

That leaves Trump with a solid base and shrinking room to grow.

He keeps telling rallies “the Trump economic boom has officially begun.” AP‑NORC’s data says most Americans don’t see it, don’t feel it, and don’t believe it. They see higher housing costs, stubborn grocery bills, volatile energy prices, and the economic drag of the Iran war and global uncertainty. They hear him talk about stock indexes and job numbers. They look at their rent and their checkout receipts and reach a different conclusion.

The deeper danger for him isn’t just that people dislike the current economy.

It’s that voters who once gave him the benefit of the doubt on this issue now say he’s part of the problem. AP‑NORC finds that about half of adults think Trump’s policies have made the national economy worse so far in this term; fewer say he hasn’t had much impact, and very few say he’s made it better. On their personal finances, people are more likely to say he’s hurt than helped them — though many also say he hasn’t made much difference.

Put simply: the old “I may be rough, but I’m good for your wallet” pitch isn’t landing the way it used to.

For Democrats, that’s an opening — if they can articulate a credible alternative. For Trump, it’s a warning his own pollsters are surely seeing: if the issue that once floated him above the waterline becomes dead weight, everything else that voters don’t like about him suddenly matters more.

He can still shout about the border and crime.

But it’s much harder to win an argument about who’s on your side when most people feel poorer and you’re the one holding the microphone.

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