Americans aren’t feeling very thankful for the state of the economy this Thanksgiving week according to recent poll numbers. In fact, 65% think that the current administration’s policies are making grocery prices go up.
That’s according to CBS/YouGov polling from Nov. 19 through Nov. 21. It found that “there’s a disconnect between how Americans hear the White House describing the economy, and what they’re feeling themselves.”
For example, 60% said that President Donald Trump makes things sound better than they are regarding the economy, including four in 10 Republicans.
Trump has been touting economic success recently. During a turkey pardoning event Tuesday, he noted Walmart’s new, cheaper, Thanksgiving deal. He also said that the price for turkey and eggs are down and that gasoline will soon come down.
“Under our leadership, we passed the largest tax cuts in history, the largest spending cuts in history, the largest regulation cuts in history,” said the president.
In a Wednesday Truth Social post, he also said that there are “New Stock Market Highs, our Economy is Great, and our Country is RESPECTED AGAIN all over the World, respected like never before. The last Administration had the Highest Inflation in history - I have already brought that down to normal, and prices, including groceries, are coming down. To do this requires a lot of Work and Energy, and I have never worked so hard in my life.”
At the same time, the CBS/YouGov polling shows that “ratings for the overall economy continue to be low – as they’ve been for years – ticking down this week to their lowest mark in 2025.”
This isn’t the first time that Trump has been out of sync with the public on economic issues. Back in April, he said while discussing tariffs that the common word “groceries” was “old fashioned” and seemed confused about the general concept of buying groceries. Halloween weekend was marked by tension about Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding halted by the government shutdown, with the Trump administration disputing whether the program could be funded despite a judge’s order to send out payments.
Data from the American Farm Bureau does indicate that the cost to cook a Thanksgiving dinner is down 5% compared to last year, a third straight year of price declines for the holiday meal. However, it also acknowledged that these “years of declines don’t fully erase dramatic increases that led to a record-high cost of $64.05 in 2022,” amid COVID-19 pandemic-fueled inflation.
Overall, 58% of participants in the CBS/YouGov poll said prices are going up and 65% believe the president’s policies are making the cost of food and groceries go up. Additionally, a 33% plurality considers the economy and inflation to be the most pressing issue facing the country right now and 77% of that group thinks the president is not spending enough time on those issues. More than two-thirds of those polled disapprove of his handling of inflation.
“That disconnect appears to continue to weigh on the president's ratings,” said CBS. Trump’s approval rating has slipped over the past several months, the outlet said, with the trend continuing this week. Among independents, his handling of the economy has also hit lows this year.
CBS/YouGov said his overall approval rating is now at just 40%, with majorities disapproving of the way Trump’s administration is handling immigration as well as the economy and inflation. Those two categories have some overlap – 54% of the people polled said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is stopping and detaining more people than necessary and a 43% plurality think the Trump administration deportation program is making the economy weaker
“One possible reason: a third of the country (who tend to live in cities and suburbs) say it is impacting their community for the worse, and they feel people in their area are staying home more as a result of the program,” CBS explained.
Other polls seem to fall in line with the recent survey. According to the Economist’s approval tracker, Trump’s approval rating was at 38% as of Wednesday, a 1.4-point drop compared to the previous week. Morning Consult polling results released Monday showed that “the share of voters who approve of the president’s job performance ticked down from 46% to 45% over the past week while his disapproval rating remained at 52%.”
“Voters remain more likely to say the president is making the imposition of tariffs a ‘top priority’ than lowering prices for consumers, while their overwhelming preference is for him to focus on the latter over the former,” Morning Consult added.
Still, Trump has said time and again that he wants to make life more affordable for Americans. To that end, he even recently met with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who as a Democratic Socialist is far across the political aisle from Trump and his “Make America Great Again” movement, at the White House.