Polls Show Widespread Disapproval of Trump's Economic Handling
Left 33%
Center 33%
Right 33%
1 left · 1 center · 1 right
What happened
An Associated Press–NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey of 2,140 U.S. adults, conducted September 24–28 with a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points, found that 17 percent approved of President Donald Trump’s handling of the cost of living, 26 percent approved of his handling of the economy overall, and 65 percent said high prices were the result of his policies. About 69 percent said his handling of the cost of living had been “worse than expected,” including 52 percent of Republicans. A CBS News poll found that 66 percent disapproved of his handling of the economy, 70 percent said his policies were raising the cost of food and groceries, and 64 percent said a war in Iran was driving oil and gas prices much higher. More than half of AP–NORC respondents said the country, the national economy, and their local economy were worse off since Trump’s 2025 reelection; 46 percent said they and their families were worse off; and 73 percent said the country was heading in the wrong direction.
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Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning coverage presents the poll as a country now blaming Trump for high prices, without the party split that shows most Republicans still put those prices beyond his control. Right-leaning coverage reports that 67 percent of Republicans attribute higher prices to factors outside the president. Left-leaning coverage gives the headline blame share and says roughly half of Republicans found his cost-of-living record worse than expected, stopping short of the beyond-control breakdown.
The two sides also rank different frames first. Left-leaning coverage opens on the 2024 promise to bring prices down. Right-leaning coverage instead flags the same poll "as the midterm election approaches."
Neither side reports whether prices have actually risen since he took office. Which of the president's policies do the respondents blaming him have in mind?
Bottom line
Mother Jones can tell you 65 percent of Americans blame Trump's policies for high prices and never mention that 67 percent of Republicans still say those prices are beyond his control.
The receipts — 3 facts one side's coverage lacks
- 67 percent of Republicans said higher prices were the result of factors beyond the president's control
- In 2022, 87 percent of Democrats said higher prices were beyond President Biden's control
- Trump's economic approval mirrors Biden's 28 percent in June 2022
The Left View
Mother Jones framed the AP–NORC results as a reversal of Trump’s 2024 campaign, which had attacked Democrats over prices, and as a record-low cost-of-living approval across both of his terms. It stressed that about 70 percent of Americans, including about half of Republicans, said his cost-of-living policies had been “worse than expected,” and that a large majority now attribute high living costs to his policies—unlike June 2022, when Biden’s economic approval was similarly weak but 55 percent said affordability struggles were outside his control.
The Right View
Breitbart reported the same poll as showing majority blame for rising prices as midterms approach, while highlighting that 67 percent of Republicans said higher prices resulted from factors beyond the president’s control. It compared that with 2022, when 87 percent of Democrats said higher prices were beyond Biden’s control and 44 percent of the public blamed Biden’s policies. The outlet also noted 68 percent disapproval of his trade negotiations and that 64 percent said his tariff policy “went too far,” and cited Fox News that Republican midterm performance will hinge especially on inflation and base enthusiasm.
Our Take (balanced)
The left’s strongest argument is that the public is not only unhappy with prices but is assigning them to Trump after he campaigned on lowering them: large majorities call his cost-of-living record “worse than expected,” CBS respondents say his policies are raising grocery costs, and a much larger share now blames the incumbent than blamed Biden in 2022. The right’s strongest argument is that price-blame still tracks partisanship—most Republicans say the causes lie beyond the president, as most Democrats did under Biden—and that 2022’s lower public attribution to Biden shows these surveys partly measure who holds office during high prices, not a settled causal verdict. The central unresolved tension is whether the higher share pinning prices on Trump, together with majority criticism that tariff policy “went too far,” is a distinct judgment on second-term policy or the usual incumbent penalty each party interprets differently.
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