Polls Show Most Voters Reject Trump’s Rosy Economic Pitch Weeks Before Midterms
Weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm election, President Trump is telling rally crowds the economy is in a golden age, while new polls show most voters say prices are too high and his policies made things worse.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has spent October on the campaign trail telling voters the economy is in a “golden age.” A string of new polls shows most voters are not buying it: they say prices are too high, they blame his policies, and they trust Democrats more than Republicans to bring costs down, according to USA Today’s reporting published Monday.
The latest inflation report is the backdrop. Consumer prices rose 3.7% in September from a year earlier, up from 3.4% in August, in a report released last week. Gas prices rose 9.1% in September, accounting for more than half of the month’s increase, and are up 34.2% for the year. Before the U.S. invasion of Iran in late February, inflation had dropped to 2.4%; it has run above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target at every point of Trump’s second term.
The polling is stark. A Pew Research Center survey released this month found 21% of Americans rate the economy as good, 37% say fair and 42% poor, while 65% believe Trump’s policies have made things worse. An AP-NORC poll found just 17% approve of Trump’s handling of cost-of-living issues, with 65% blaming him for high prices and 61% saying the economy is worse than when he took office. A Fox News survey released Oct. 14 put his economic approval at 29%, down from 43% shortly after he took office and 56% at his first-term high.
Republicans begin to distance themselves
The numbers have some Republicans running for office pulling away from the White House pitch. Democrats lead in the Real Clear Politics average of recent Senate polls in Texas, Iowa, Alaska and Ohio, all states Trump carried by double digits, while Kansas, Nebraska and South Carolina look increasingly competitive, USA Today reported.
GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson, running for the Senate in Iowa, called for an immediate end to the war in Iran in a social media post, writing that Iowans are being squeezed and should not have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line. Former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, running for the Senate in Michigan, called for an end to both the Iran conflict and the trade war with Canada: “Prices are too high and Canada is not our enemy. We need to end the tariff war – now,” he wrote.
Marc Short, who served as Trump’s liaison to Congress in his first term and as chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence, said voters elected Trump back to fix high inflation under Biden. “I think they wanted him to solve the lackluster economy and the high inflation under Biden, but he hasn’t,” he said. Former Republican National Committee political director Mike DuHaime said the White House faces a basic problem: “It’s hard to tell people what they feel is wrong. Whether or not the stock market goes up or not doesn’t matter if I can’t afford groceries.”
Tariffs, war and the White House response
Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found Trump’s tariffs had clear, measurable effects on consumer prices, estimating the cost of 67 goods rose 2.9% through February because of the levies. USA Today reported that economists say the Iran war’s disruption of Middle East energy exports has spiked fuel prices and added to overall inflation.
Trump has dismissed the pessimism. Asked about the September inflation report while traveling to a Montana rally on Oct. 14, he said inflation has been “very low” in recent months and added, “We’re doing great.” At a Sept. 30 event, he said, “I’ve done a very bad job of explaining how good the country is doing. We’re doing better than any country in the world economically.”
He has also announced a series of measures that suggest concern about prices: a promise of $5,000 to every adult American if Republicans keep control of Congress, announced at the GOP midterm convention in Dallas last month; $500 rebate checks for people he said were overcharged for Affordable Care Act plans; $90 payments to 21 million seniors; a plan to ease tariffs on beef imports; and a deal to buy Russian diesel. Vice President JD Vance has struck a softer tone, asking voters to give the administration “another couple of years” to deliver.
University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers rated the economy in the “B” range but said Trump’s policies were holding it back. “The president was dealt a really good hand. The economy recovered from COVID. We’re in great shape. We’re at the beginning of an AI boom. This could have been great and maybe it’s just OK,” he said, adding that every headwind the economy faces was caused by the administration.
Reporting based on coverage by USA Today.
