While concerns about President Donald Trump’s global tariff war persist, new polls show public opinion on his approach to handling the economy is becoming increasingly negative.
According to Reuters/Ipsos poll results released Wednesday, Trump’s approval rating fell from 42% this January to 37% in March. This month, a poll taken from April 16 through April 21 showed that it remained at 37%.
“Americans elected President Donald Trump in hopes that he would fight inflation and boost the U.S. economy, but as he approaches his 100th day in office they are giving the Republican poor marks for his handling of both,” said Reuters.
That new poll also found that Trump’s approval rating was at 42%, its lowest since January. Another round of poll results released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center found that 40% of Americans approve of how he’s handling the job. That’s a 7% decline from February, Pew said.
Pew’s polling indicates that 59% of Americans disapprove of the administration’s tariff increases, while just 39% approve. Additionally, 55% disapprove of the cuts the administration is making to federal departments and agencies, while 44% approve.
“Trump’s current approval rating of 40% is on par with his rating at this point in his first term. It remains lower than other recent presidents’ approval ratings in the early months of their presidencies,” said the research center.
Audacy has reported on how tariffs have already impacted the economy and how they are expected to continue to. This Tuesday, we covered how the tariff increases could spike the cost of used cars by around $3,000 per vehicle. Reed Smith offers a tracker of the currently in place — Trump has often announced and then pulled back on the tariffs as his administration works on trade deals with our international trading partners.
Some of the reasons he has offered for the tariffs include cracking down on fentanyl trafficking, as well as addressing trade deficits and tariffs imposed on U.S. goods. China in particular has been a target of the tariffs, and it has retaliated more than some other countries. CNBC reported Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expects “there will be a de-escalation” in the trade war with China soon.
Another move Trump has recently made regarding the U.S. economy concerns the Federal Reserve Bank. During the period of high inflation following the COVID-19 outbreak, the Fed increased interest rates in an effort to bring inflation down. While that inflation has eased from its peak, it is still over the Fed’s target rate to reduce interest rates that make it more expensive for Americans to borrow money.
Last week, Trump said that he wants Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell out for not cutting rates.