Trump’s Poll Numbers Tank As Prices Go Up

Trump’s Poll Numbers Tank As Prices Go Up

A new poll from CBS News this week found that 70 percent of Americans believe President Trump is not doing enough to lower prices. On top of that, a significant majority (60%) oppose his erratic trade policy, over half (54%) disapprove of his handling of inflation, and more than half (60%) believe that the Republican budget law will hurt poor Americans.

Groundwork Collaborative’s Executive Director Lindsay Owens reacted with the following statement:

“As his approval tanks, President Trump has finally lost voters on the one issue where they’ve historically trusted him: the economy. Not only has Trump shirked his promise to lower prices, he’s made the situation substantially worse as his tax and tariff policies have landed a double blow to household budgets. Working families know exactly who to blame as they pay higher prices on everything from groceries and electricity bills to school supplies and appliances.”

This week in the Trump Slump, new polling and economic indicators continue to show that President Trump’s actions are deeply unpopular and hurting the economy.

Polling: 

• In addition to CBS, polls from the Associated Press and Fox News show that Trump’s approval rating is plummeting—especially on issues related to prices and the economy:
• The AP reported roughly half of U.S. adults said that Trump’s policies have “done more to hurt” them since his second term began six months ago, and only 4 in 10 U.S. adults approve of Trump’s job performance.
• Fox News found that more than half of Americans (58%) disapprove of the budget bill, and a majority give the economy (67%) and their family finances (56%) negative ratings.
• Fox News’ survey also showed that Americans believe Democrats would better handle issues related to climate, healthcare, social security, education, energy, and inflation compared to Republicans.
• A new Gallup poll reported that Trump’s approval rating is at the lowest of this term at 37 percent—slightly above his all-time worst rating of 34 percent at the end of his first term. Among independents, his approval rating is an all-time low of just 29%.
• New polling from Navigator Research found that a majority (51%) of Americans view the Republican budget law unfavorably, and 55 percent believe the law will mostly benefit the rich, and not everyday Americans.
• KFF reported two-thirds (63%) of Americans continue to hold unfavorable views of Republicans’ budget law, and almost half (46%) of adults think the legislation will hurt them and their family.

Economic Indicators: 

• Total orders for non-defense durable goods fell 9.4% in June, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
• The National Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales decreased by 2.7% in June to a nine-month low, and the national median sales price rose to an all-time high of $435,300.
• The S&P Global Flash US Manufacturing PMI fell to 49.5 in July, signaling a renewed deterioration of factory business conditions for the first time since December. S&P found “reduced optimism again primarily reflected broad-based concerns over tariffs and cuts to state funding following recent federal government policy changes. Even in manufacturing, any protectionist benefits of import tariffs were often outweighed by concerns over higher prices and rising costs.”
• While new jobless claims have dropped, continuing jobless claims increased 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.955 million during the week ending July 12.

Expert Commentary: 

• Cynthia Cox, Director of the Program on the ACA at KFF, spoke about the dire effects of Trump’s budget law: “I think back to the Great Recession, when a lot of people lost their jobs and thus lost their job-based health insurance coverage. This is going to be more than that.”
• Center for Maritime Strategy Shipping expert John McCown wrote on Trump’s tariffs impacting U.S. shipping container volume: “The downward turn in 2025 will be due to tariffs and unfortunately there is nothing at present that suggests it will be short-lived … It is now most likely that there will be a decline in overall annual inbound volume in 2025. That will be one of the more striking year-to-year changes in US container volume in the six-decade history of the shipping container.”
• Robert Stavins, Professor of Environmental Economics at Harvard University, spoke to the Texas Tribune about how Republicans’ budget law will impact clean energy projects in the state: “From an economic perspective, it’s not good for Texas. All that uncertainty just makes business people very uncomfortable, and that generally depresses investment everywhere. It’s not just what’s in the Big Beautiful Bill.”
• Groundwork Collaborative Executive Director Lindsay Owens endorsed legislation that would prevent companies from using artificial intelligence to set prices based on consumers’ personal data: “Delta’s announcement should be a wakeup call for policymakers. The airline industry has pioneered and then exported some of the most opaque, unpredictable, and frustrating pricing practices consumers face across the economy. Now, consumers are at risk of their data being used against them, with companies using their purchase history, personal financial information, and more, to charge them as much as they possibly can for every flight they book. Any form of surveillance pricing is invasive and predatory–and it shouldn’t be legal. Lawmakers must crack down on surveillance pricing now, before it is too late.”
• Groundwork Collaborative’s Chief of Policy and Advocacy Alex Jacquez highlighted Groundwork’s new report that details how President Trump’s policies have driven up the cost of housing: “Under President Trump, the American Dream of owning a home is becoming a pipe dream. This Administration’s economic policies are worsening the housing affordability crisis and making it more expensive to buy, rent, and build housing. Trump promised to lower prices on day one. Instead, he is saddling working families with higher prices and no relief.”