Trump Economy Approval Sinks Amid Cost of Living Debate
Left 50%
Center 0%
Right 50%
1 left · 0 center · 1 right
What happened
Polling released this week shows President Donald Trump's approval ratings at or near record lows, especially on the cost of living, with congressional midterm elections about eight weeks away. An FT poll found that 33 percent of registered voters approved of his overall performance, a record low in that survey, while Republican approval stood at 72 percent, down from 82 percent in May. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found 32 percent approved of his handling of the economy, 25 percent of cost of living, and 24 percent of inflation and prices. In the latest employment report, the United States added 162,000 jobs, about triple economists' forecasts, and unemployment held at 4.1 percent; headline inflation was 3.4 percent and gasoline averaged about $4.15 a gallon.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning coverage never reports that voters score Trump worse on cost of living than on the economy. Overall approval appears as 33 percent in the Guardian, which then moves to the president's personal fortune after a brief nod to groceries and electricity. Only a quarter of voters approved of him on cost of living, according to Fox News. That Reuters/Ipsos survey put his economy rating higher, at 32 percent.
Left-leaning coverage leads with crypto sales, Trump Bibles, and a thousand-plus stock trades after an AI-generated picture of him trading Intel. Right-leaning coverage leads with the midterm calendar and a House forecast, and it never mentions those holdings at all.
How much have grocery and electricity prices actually risen this year?
Bottom line
The Guardian never gives a cost-of-living approval number and spends its space on the president's fortune. Fox News gives that number and notes the parties are essentially even on who handles the economy.
The receipts — 6 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Only a quarter of voters approved of Trump on cost of living in a Reuters/Ipsos poll
- The U.S. added 162,000 jobs last week
- Headline inflation stands at 3.4 percent
- Trump made $2.2 billion in 2025
- The White House called Intel's surging stock price "a direct windfall for American taxpayers"
- 37 percent of voters prefer Democrats to handle the economy versus 36 percent for Republicans
The Left View
A Guardian column by Arwa Mahdawi frames the approval drop as unfolding while Trump's personal fortune grows, citing a March Forbes estimate of about $6.5 billion and $2.2 billion earned in 2025 from cryptocurrency, branded Bibles, and Truth Social. It treats his claim that he trades stocks 'for our Country, not myself'—including a 9.9 percent U.S. government stake in Intel that the White House called 'a direct windfall for American taxpayers'—as unmatched by any benefit households feel, while 'soaring' electricity and grocery costs dominate daily life. The column cites a Democratic joint economic committee report that his oil and gas holdings had risen by nearly $16 million 'because of the war with Iran,' and notes ethics experts have flagged how rare it is for presidents to hold and trade individual company stocks. It argues those conflicts erode trust, and that pending legislation to restrict members of Congress from trading individual stocks would not cover the president or vice president. It presents the record-low overall rating as his 'personal stock' falling even as most Republicans still approve.
The Right View
Fox News argues that the economy is voters' top issue but 'means different things' to them: recent job growth, steady unemployment, and a rising stock market sit alongside much weaker ratings on prices. It says administrations that sell 'optimistic visions' despite high household costs tend to fail, comparing Vice President JD Vance's remark that gas prices 'could be worse' if not for the administration to Biden-era 2022 claims that inflation was 'transitory' or that a monthly pause was a win—messaging Fox says voters 'rejected... at the ballot box.' Its central claim is that dissatisfaction 'doesn't make voters any happier about the alternative': the same Reuters/Ipsos survey found 36 percent said Republicans are the better party to handle the economy and 37 percent preferred Democrats, within the poll's margin of error. Fox concludes a Democratic midterm gain is possible but not locked in, and its Power Rankings still show a competitive House.
Our Take (balanced)
The left's strongest argument is that voters are scoring the economy by grocery, electricity, and gasoline bills rather than by jobs totals or markets, and that high-profile presidential stock trading and industry holdings make those costs feel like someone else's gain—the gap between roughly one-third approval on the economy and roughly one-quarter on cost of living and inflation is the clearest evidence. The right's strongest argument is that the same polling does not assign Democrats a clear lead on economic competence (36 percent Republican versus 37 percent Democratic in Reuters/Ipsos) and that labor-market headlines remain relatively strong, so anger over prices may not produce an automatic wave. The central unresolved tension is whether cost-of-living discontent will drive midterm voting the way high inflation did against the incumbent party in 2022, or whether an even split on which party is trusted with the economy will limit how far that discontent travels.
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