Trump economic approval 3 points lower than Biden’s worst marks: Poll

Administration Trump economic approval 3 points lower than Biden’s worst marks: Poll Comments: by Ryan Mancini - 06/18/26 9:58 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Ryan Mancini - 06/18/26 9:58 AM ET Comments: Link copied

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A new poll shows President Trump’s handling of the economy received its lowest approval rating yet, sitting 3 points lower than former President Biden’s worst marks during his administration.

The NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released Thursday shows only 33 percent of surveyed Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, compared with the 36 percent approval Biden received for his handling of the economy in February 2022.

The economy was a major factor in Trump’s victory in 2024 over former Vice President Kamala Harris, who became the Democratic nominee after Biden dropped out of the race.

Biden faced growing concerns over inflation, with prices rising following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shortly after the February 2022 poll was conducted. At the time, the former president said he knew “Americans are already hurting” but defended the U.S. response to provide Ukraine with aid to fight back against Russia.

The latest poll showed that disapproval for Trump’s handling of the economy climbed to 60 percent, which included 65 percent of independents, 22 percent of Republicans and 93 percent of Democrats.

Trump’s numbers are much worse than the poll found during his first term. Twice, in the same poll, Trump dropped to an approval of 47 percent in September 2019 and in October 2020.

Regina Kulenga, a 36-year-old Trump voter in Georgia, blasted Trump’s economic policies while speaking with NPR, calling them a “slap in the face.” She said she and her family have struggled with the rising cost of groceries and transportation.

“The economy is suffering a lot right now, and I just feel like a lot of the things that he did promise, you know, we’re still waiting,” she said. “Honestly, I was a big Trump supporter in the beginning … and I’m like, someone needs to do something about it because he’s not doing anything right now for the economy but making things, I feel, in my opinion, a lot worse than what they were.”

Two-thirds of American adults told pollsters that rising costs had some or a great deal of impact on their plans to take a summer vacation, with 49 percent saying that the cost of taking a vacation is stopping them from taking one. Fifty-five percent of respondents, however, said they still plan to take a vacation despite high prices.

Prices have soared since the start of the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran in February, which started at a point when many Americans were already concerned about the cost of living and affordability.

The annual inflation rate increased to 4.2 percent in May, its highest point in three years, according to the Department of Labor. The same data found that the food index also saw an increase of 3.1 percent over the past year, and the average price for gas reached $4.49 per gallon in mid-May.

The national average for gas in the U.S., however, dipped to just less than $4 per gallon for the first time in months after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a preliminary deal to end the conflict. The average as of Thursday had fallen to $3.99, according to AAA.

The NPR/PBS News/Marist survey was conducted June 8-11 and included 1,340 respondents. The margin of error is 3.3 percentage points.

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