Poll Shows Voters Blame Trump for Weak Economy Ahead of Midterms
Left 100%
Center 0%
Right 0%
3 left · 0 center · 0 right
What happened
On September 20, 2026, NBC News released a poll of 1,000 registered voters conducted September 11–15 by Public Opinion Strategies and Hart Research Associates, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The survey found President Donald Trump’s job approval at 41 percent among registered voters and disapproval at 56 percent. Fifty-five percent said Trump’s policies have hurt the economy, up from 48 percent in March, while 26 percent said they have helped. Democrats led 50 percent to 45 percent on the generic congressional ballot. Forty-three percent of voters said their midterm vote was meant to signal opposition to Trump, versus 27 percent who said it would signal support.
Sourcing check · Rests on documents, no one quoted · 3 articles
No article quotes anyone; the reporting rests on poll. It was on the record from the first report.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 0 of 2
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: No article does.
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 2 of 2
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: poll
- Credits another outlet 0 of 2
- The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
- Unnamed sources 0 of 2
- The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this.
- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Sep 20, 13:00 UTC by NBC News, naming its source. First document in the first report, from NBC News (poll).
- Not counted 1
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
ONE-SIDED THIS WEEK.
Only left-leaning outlets have covered this story in the last two days;
Fox News reported it on 2026-09-16.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Right-leaning coverage is silent on this poll, so a reader there would miss that most voters now say Trump's policies have hurt the economy. Left-leaning coverage adds that his job rating is at a second-term low and that more voters than in any prior midterm in NBC News polling intend their vote as a signal of opposition to him. Among those outlets, the short version omits the caveats that Democrats remain the more negatively viewed party and that the Senate fight sits in traditionally Republican territory, points NBC News includes and The Hill does not.
Left-leaning broadcast coverage leads with voters who want their midterm ballot to "signal opposition to Trump," while The Hill leads on a weakened economy. The longer NBC News article carries both of those frames, and the brief does not.
What share of voters blaming Trump for the economy are reacting to the Iran war's price spike?
Bottom line
The NBC News finding that 55 percent of voters say Trump's policies have hurt the economy has no right-leaning write-up at all.
The receipts — 2 facts one side's coverage lacks
- 55 percent of voters say Trump's policies have hurt the economy
- 43 percent of registered voters say their congressional vote is meant to signal opposition to Trump
The Left View
NBC News and The Hill report the poll as showing Trump’s ratings at a second-term low and a majority of voters blaming his policies for a weaker economy and high prices, including after an Iran war. Meet the Press highlighted Steve Kornacki’s finding that 43 percent want their vote to signal opposition to Trump, including nearly half of independents. Coverage also notes a 5-point Democratic edge on the congressional ballot—smaller than Democrats’ 2018 lead—Republican geographic advantages in Senate races, the Democratic Party’s weaker brand ratings, evaporated GOP leads on the economy and inflation, majority opposition to the Iran war, and limited voter enthusiasm for Trump’s 2025 tax-and-spending law and a proposed $5,000 payment.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is substantive as a published poll: named firms, sample size, field dates, and margin of error are checkable, and the figures above are established as what this NBC survey reported. What remains unestablished is whether other polls will match these results or whether they will predict November outcomes; a single survey is a snapshot, not independent corroboration of economic conditions themselves. No right-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for additional public polls on approval, the economy, and the generic ballot, plus any official campaign or White House response to these numbers.
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