During President Donald Trump's first term, the economy was a relative strength of his. During the 2024 presidential campaign, his promises to lower prices in a country grappling with post-COVID inflation propelled him back into office.
But toward the end of his first year in office this term, just 36% of Americans approve of his handling of the economy, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll. It's his worst mark in the six years that Marist has been asking the question.
The only time in that span that Americans had a similarly negative view of a president's handling of the economy in the poll was in February 2022, when Joe Biden was president. Now Democrats are slightly more trusted to handle the economy than Republicans — 37% to 33%. That's not a wide margin, but it's a sharp turnaround from the 16-point advantage Republicans had on the question in 2022.
There are a number of other stark findings in this wide-ranging survey that focused on the economic pressures Americans are facing. The poll found that many Americans are having difficulty making ends meet, they worry about the economic outlook for themselves and the country, and most believe the country is already in a recession — with notable divides by race, age and gender on many questions.
The White House recognizes the challenge the current economy poses and is trying to make it a focus of events going forward. But the president has his work cut out for him to convince Americans his administration will make it better. He has struggled to do so, often returning to culture war arguments, particularly immigration, instead.
Trump's political standing is at the nadir of his presidency
Trump's handling of the economy has him under water with several key groups, including some that are important to his coalition. For example, 49% of people who live in rural areas disapprove of the job he's doing on the economy, while just 43% approve; 48% of white women without college degrees disapprove vs. 41% who approve. In the suburbs, which are often critical in swing districts, more disapprove by a 60%-33% margin.
In addition to Trump's low approval for his handling of the economy, his overall job approval rating stands at a meager 38%. That's the lowest of his second term and the lowest number he's seen in Marist's surveys since April 2018.
That year, his approval rating did not go much higher. It sat at 41% in the last Marist poll before the 2018 midterm elections. Republicans lost 40 seats in the House that year.
The intensity of disapproval of the president is particularly high — 50% of registered voters said they strongly disapprove.
Just 30% of independents and 8% of Democrats approve of the job Trump's doing. But, as has been the case for the entirety of Trump's time on the political stage, he retains robust support from Republicans. In this survey, 84% of Republicans approve of the job he's doing. That's down 5 points from last month, but within the margin of error.
Prices leap out as the top economic concern
By far, the biggest financial factor straining Americans is prices.
Asked for their top economic concern, 45% of respondents said prices. Nothing else came close — housing was second at 18%, followed by tariffs at 15% and job security at 10%.
Tariffs are certainly closely tied to higher prices in this administration. Two-thirds in this survey said they're very concerned or somewhat concerned about tariffs' impact on their personal finances.
That's down from 81% in June, but still a significant majority. The decline is driven by Republicans. In June, 70% of Republicans said they were concerned about tariffs' potential impact. Now, it's just 38%, while overwhelming majorities of independents and Democrats continue to say they're concerned about them.
Most say the country is already in a recession
When a country is in a recession is not always clear, but it is marked by a significant downturn in economic activity. The technical definition is two consecutive quarters of negative growth as measured by the country's gross domestic product, or GDP.
That's not where the country is right now, though there are signs of a slowing labor market. Just 64,000 jobs were added in November, as of the delayed jobs report released Tuesday, for example, and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.6%.
For many, especially those who are Black, Latino and under 45 years old, times feel particularly tough. Latinos, for example, were 22 points more likely than those who are white to say the country is in a recession.
Respondents under 45 were 17 points more likely than those over 45 years old to say the country was in a recession. Women were also 15 points more likely to say so than men.
Prices in many sectors remain high and, overall, people say affordability is a major issue. In fact, 70% in this survey said the area where they live is not very affordable or not affordable at all for the average family. That's up from 45% when Marist asked the same question in June, a whopping increase and a sign of how much people are feeling the economic pinch.
Republicans and independents were sharply more negative now than they were in June on affordability of the area they live in. In June, by a 64%-36% margin, Republicans said the cost of living was affordable or very affordable. But in this survey, they were split, 51%-49%.
Independents in June were more positive, with 54% saying the area they live in was affordable. But that has cratered, down 30 points.
A strong majority also say the economy simply isn't working for them
Roughly 6 in 10 said the economy is not working well for them personally, and more said their financial situation has gotten worse in the past year than better (35% vs. 21%).
There was a sharp partisan divide; it's become common over the past decade or so for the strength of the economy to be viewed through a political lens, like so many other things.
In this survey, most Democrats and independents said the economy isn't working well for them personally, while two-thirds of Republicans said it is.
Here, again, there were also significant divides by race, age, income, education and gender. For example, three-quarters of those who are Black and two-thirds of Latinos said the economy isn't working for them, compared to 56% of white people who said so.
Notably, there was also a sharp divide between men and women without college degrees — 69% of white women without degrees said the economy wasn't working for them, compared to 51% of white non-degreed men. This split was evident on several questions among this group, which is core to Trump's coalition.
Many are barely getting by, and they're worried about health care costs
Seven in 10 people surveyed said their expenses either match or exceed their income every month, and it's far worse for non-whites and younger people. While 68% of people who are white fall into this category, a far higher percentage of those who are Black (77%) and Latino (78%) said so.
It was a similar story for those who are younger, lower income or don't hold a college degree.
A quarter of people said their expenses consistently exceed their income, which translates to roughly 64 million adults who are accruing debt month to month. That was highest among people who make less than $50,000 a year, white women without college degrees, Millennials, those who are Black, Latino and those who have children under 18 years old.
This socioeconomic divide shows up throughout the survey, including on the question of whether people are satisfied with their savings. Fifty-four percent of those who are white are at least somewhat satisfied with the amount of money they currently have saved, versus just 41% of those who are Black and 40% of Latinos.
Similar gaps are clear by age and education, with a particularly wide chasm between those who have college degrees (60% satisfied with their savings) and those who do not have college degrees (41%).
The cost of health care is a major concern. In fact, a majority (54%) said they're concerned that their household will be unable to pay for needed health care services in the next year. Again, this was highest for those who are Black (69%), Latino (65%), make less than $50,000 a year (67%), are under 45 (61%), especially those 18-29 (63%) and women (61%).
People are pessimistic about the future and the state of the country
As the new year approaches, almost 6 in 10 said they are more pessimistic about what's ahead for the world in 2026.
Among those most pessimistic were Democrats, white women with college degrees, independents and Latinos. Those most optimistic included Republicans, white evangelical Christians, people who live in rural areas and whites without degrees (particularly white men) — all generally solid pro-Trump groups.
A significant share of respondents said the country is headed in the wrong direction — 63% — though there were similar demographic splits.
The survey was conducted from Dec. 8-11, reaching 1,440 adults through live interviewers, text and online. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percentage points. The survey includes 1,261 registered voters. Where voters are mentioned, there is a +/- 3.4 percentage point margin of error.
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