Public Opinion Polls Detail Declining Approval for Trump and Widespread Economic Concerns in Late 2024 and Early 2025

Recent national polls conducted in late 2024 and early 2025 indicate a decline in public approval for President Donald Trump's economic handling and overall job performance. Surveys reveal widespread concerns among Americans regarding the economy, including prices, affordability, and personal financial situations, with a majority expressing belief that the country is headed in the wrong direction and facing threats to democracy.

Public Opinion in Late 2024

NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll (December 8-11, 2024)

A poll surveying 1,440 adults (1,261 registered voters) with a margin of error of +/- 3.2 to 3.4 percentage points, revealed significant shifts in public sentiment.

• Economic Approval Rating: Only 36% of Americans approved of President Trump's handling of the economy, marking his lowest approval for economic handling in six years of Marist polling. This rating was comparable to President Joe Biden's rating in February 2022.

• Overall Job Approval Rating: The President's overall job approval rating stood at 38%, identified as his lowest in his second term and since April 2018. Disapproval was expressed strongly by 50% of registered voters.

• Approval by Political Affiliation:

  • 84% of Republicans approved, a 5-point decrease from the previous month (within the margin of error).
  • 30% of independents approved.
  • 8% of Democrats approved.

• Economic Management Trust: Democrats were slightly more trusted to manage the economy at 37% compared to Republicans at 33%. This indicated a significant shift from 2022, when Republicans held a 16-point advantage on this measure.

• Demographic Disapproval (Economic Performance): Specific demographic groups showed varying levels of disapproval.

  • 49% of rural residents and 48% of white women without college degrees disapproved.
  • Among suburban residents, 60% disapproved, while 33% approved.

• Leading Concerns: Prices were cited by 45% of respondents as their primary economic concern. Other significant concerns included housing (18%), tariffs (15%), and job security (10%).

• Tariff Impact: Approximately two-thirds of respondents expressed concern about the impact of tariffs on their personal finances. While Republican concern decreased from 70% in June to 38% in this survey, majorities of independents and Democrats remained concerned.

• Recession Perception: A majority of Americans perceived the country to be in a recession, despite the technical definition (two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth) not being met.

  • Latinos were 22 points more likely than white respondents to believe a recession was underway.
  • Individuals under 45 years old were 17 points more likely than those over 45 to hold this belief.
  • Women were 15 points more likely than men to state the country was in a recession.
  • In November, 64,000 jobs were added, and the unemployment rate was 4.6%.

• Affordability: 70% of respondents stated their local area was either "not very affordable" or "not affordable at all" for the average family, a sharp increase from 45% in June. Negative views on affordability increased significantly among Republicans and independents since June.

• Personal Economic Performance: Roughly 60% of individuals reported that the economy was not performing well for them personally. Additionally, 35% stated their financial situation worsened in the past year, compared to 21% who reported improvement.

  • Most Democrats and independents reported a negative personal economic experience, while two-thirds of Republicans reported a positive one.
  • 75% of Black respondents and 67% of Latino respondents reported the economy not working for them, compared to 56% of white respondents.
  • 69% of white women without college degrees reported the economy not working for them, contrasting with 51% of white men without degrees.

• Expenses vs. Income: 70% of those surveyed indicated their monthly expenses either matched or exceeded their income, with this figure being higher among non-white and younger populations. Approximately 25% of respondents, an estimated 64 million adults, reported consistently accruing debt monthly.

• Satisfaction with Savings: 54% of white individuals reported satisfaction, compared to 41% of Black individuals and 40% of Latinos. 60% of college graduates expressed satisfaction, versus 41% of non-graduates.

• Healthcare Costs: 54% of households expressed concern about their ability to pay for necessary healthcare services in the next year. This concern was notably higher among Black (69%), Latino (65%), low-income (67%), individuals under 45 (61%), and female (61%) respondents.

• Pessimism: 59% of respondents expressed increased pessimism about the world in 2026. This sentiment was more prevalent among Democrats, white women with college degrees, independents, and Latinos. Republicans, white evangelical Christians, rural residents, and white non-degree holders (particularly white men) showed higher levels of optimism.

• Country's Direction: 63% believed the country was headed in the wrong direction, with similar demographic patterns observed in these perceptions.

Public Opinion in Early 2025

Multiple Polls (Early 2025)

Polls conducted in early 2025, including the NPR/PBS News/Marist poll (January 27-30) and findings from other surveys, reflected public sentiment one year into a hypothetical second term for President Trump.

• Overall Job Approval: A CNN/SSRS poll found President Trump's overall job approval rating at 36%. An aggregate of polls indicated a significant decline in his net approval rating, dropping from +5 to -16 over the first year of a second term, which constitutes a a 21-point reduction.

  This decline was noted as the largest first-year approval rating decrease for any president since 1948 and, among second-term presidents, the most substantial drop since Richard Nixon.

• Priorities and Policy Direction:

  • CNN/SSRS polls indicated that between 32% and 36% of adults believed the administration had the right priorities.
  • 68% stated the President had not focused enough on the country's most important problems, described as his most negative reading on this question.
  • 61% believed Trump's policies would move the country in the wrong direction, while 38% believed they would move it in the right direction.
  • A CBS News/YouGov poll found 74% of Americans believed the administration was not focusing enough on high prices.

• Personal Impact of Policies: 53% of respondents reported that Trump's policies had a mostly negative personal impact on them, a 4-point increase from a year prior (NPR/PBS News/Marist, Jan 27-30).

• Approval by Political Affiliation (CNN/SSRS):

  • Trump’s approval rating among political independents reached a new low of 26%.
  • Strong approval among Republicans stood at 49%, a decrease from 64% recorded after his address to Congress the previous year.
  • Nearly three in ten Republicans reported that Trump had not paid enough attention to important problems, and 16% believed his policies would move the country in the wrong direction.
  • A 19-point decrease in approval was observed among Latino Americans, and an 18-point decrease among Americans younger than 45.

• Mental Fitness and Ethics (Pew Research Center): A January Pew Research Center survey indicated that 27% of US adults supported all or most of Trump's policies and plans. Additionally, from February 2025 to January, the percentage of Republicans who believed he possessed the necessary mental fitness for the job decreased from 75% to 66%. Over the same timeframe, the percentage of Republicans who thought Trump acted ethically in office also decreased, from 55% to 42%.

• Top Concern: 57% of respondents in a CNN poll selected the economy and cost of living as the issue they most wanted the President to address in his State of the Union speech.

• Specific Issue Approval (CNN/SSRS findings):

  • Net approval for the economy decreased from +10 to -15.
  • Net approval for inflation dropped from +6 to -24.
  • Net approval for trade recovered slightly from -20 to -15 but remained nearly 30 points lower than at the start of the administration. Tariffs were linked to job losses and increased prices on goods.

• State of the Union (NPR/PBS News/Marist, Jan 27-30): By a 57% to 43% margin, respondents stated the state of the union was not strong, an increase of 4 percentage points from the previous year. This view was held by 80% of Democrats and approximately two-thirds of independents, while about three-quarters of Republicans believed it was strong.

• Country's Direction (NPR/PBS News/Marist, Jan 27-30):

  • 60% of respondents believed the country was worse off than a year ago, including approximately two-thirds of independents and 90% of Democrats. 80% of Republicans held the opposite view.
  • Most US adults believed the country was moving in the wrong direction during the second presidency.
  • 55% perceived the direction President Trump was moving the country as a "change for the worse," the highest number recorded by Marist on this question during Trump's terms, representing a 13-point increase compared to the same period during his first presidency and a 4-point increase since April.

• Threat to American Democracy (NPR/PBS News/Marist, Jan 27-30):

  78% of respondents expressed that they saw a serious threat to the future of American democracy.
  Majorities across political groups shared this concern, including 91% of Democrats, 80% of independents, and 61% of Republicans.

• Checks and Balances (NPR/PBS News/Marist, Jan 27-30):

  68% of respondents stated that the system of checks and balances dividing power between the president, Congress, and the courts was not working well, a 12-point increase from a year ago.
  This increase was driven by an 11-point rise from independents and a 17-point rise from Republicans, though a majority of Republicans continued to believe the system was functioning well. In March 2025, 43% of US adults agreed that the system of checks and balances was functioning effectively; this figure declined to 32% in the January 27-30 survey.

• Immigration (CNN/SSRS findings): Net approval for immigration shifted from +9 to -7. Public opinion showed increasing disapproval of the administration's use of force in immigration enforcement.

• Healthcare (CNN/SSRS findings): Net approval for healthcare slid to -12, influenced by concerns over Affordable Care Act cuts and rising hospital costs.

• Foreign Policy (CNN/SSRS findings): Net approval for foreign policy stood at -10, representing a 20-point drop from the start of the administration.