Poll Suggests an 'Ongoing Vulnerability for Trump'

Americans are growing increasingly concerned about their ability to find a good job under President Trump, an AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll finds, in what is a potential warning sign for Republicans as a promised economic boom has given way to hiring freezes and elevated inflation, per the AP. High prices for groceries, housing, and health care persist as a fear for many households, while rising electricity bills and the cost of gas at the pump are also sources of anxiety, according to the survey. Some 47% of US adults are "not very" or "not at all confident" they could find a good job if they wanted to, an increase from 37% when the question was last asked in October 2023.

More than one-half of US adults said the cost of groceries are a "major" source of financial stress, about 4 in 10 said the cost of housing and health care were a serious strain, 36% said the same of electricity bills, and about one-third said they were feeling high stress about gas prices. The survey suggests an ongoing vulnerability for Trump, who returned to the White House in January with claims he could quickly tame the inflation that surged after the pandemic during Democratic President Biden's term. Instead, Trump's popularity on the economy has remained low amid a mix of tariffs, federal worker layoffs, and partisan sniping that has culminated in a government shutdown.

The poll found that 36% of US adults approve of how Trump is handling the economy, a figure that has held steady this year after he imposed tariffs that caused broad economic uncertainty. Among Republicans, 71% feel positive about his economic leadership. At roughly the same point in Biden's term, in October 2021, an AP-NORC poll found that 41% of US adults approved of how he was handling the economy, including about 73% of Democrats. That overall number was a little higher than Trump's, primarily because of independents—29% approved of how Biden was handling the economy, compared with the 18% who currently support Trump's approach. At the same time, 36% said they were "extremely" or "very" confident in their ability to get a good job. That has fallen to 21% now.