Americans now assign the economic status quo more to Donald Trump’s policies than those of his predecessor.
If you go around advertising your intention to rebalance the entire global economy and then set out to do just that in the most disruptive fashion imaginable, you should expect that most observers will give you credit for your efforts. That’s intuitive enough. But for skeptics of that conclusion, CBS News’s latest poll provides supporting evidence.
With more than two weeks to go before Donald Trump’s second term in office hits the 100-day mark, Americans now assign the economic status quo more to Donald Trump’s policies than those of his predecessor. While only 21 percent said Joe Biden was responsible for the “state of the U.S. economy,” over half of respondents said “Trump’s policies” now set the course of American economic development.
That is not a value judgment–free proposition. A slight majority of Americans now believe the economy over the next year will either be “slowing” or entering recession. Some 53 percent say the economy is “getting worse.” Overall, 56 percent of respondents disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy compared with 44 percent who approve — a reversal from the beginning of March, when a slight majority approved of Trump’s economic performance. Sixty percent of respondents now disapprove of Trump’s “handling of inflation.” Two-thirds of independents and one-third of Republicans join the vast majority of Democrats in describing the economy as “bad.”
Most troubling from the White House’s perspective, American adults are now split on whether Trump’s policies are good for them. Today, 49 percent say Trump will make them “worse off” while 51 percent believe their financial position will either be “the same” or “better off” under his leadership — a marked shift toward apprehension in a short period.
Trump’s overall job approval rating is declining, but not by a rate that mirrors the public’s growing economic anxiety. CBS News found that 47 percent of the respondents approved of the president’s performance in office, while 53 percent disapproved. That is, however, generally a function of the GOP’s steadfast support for the president, which has remained stable. Since its late February poll, Trump’s approval rating among men has declined by seven points, eight points among adults under 30, nine points among those between the ages of 30 and 44, ten points among African Americans, and eleven points among Hispanics. Moderates and independents, too, are leaving the flock, with Trump’s approval sinking among these groups by eleven points and nine points, respectively.
Republicans and conservatives are stable in their support for Trump, even if their assessment of the outcomes over which he has presided is increasingly sour. Maybe these respondents can square the cognitive dissonance associated with this condition. Perhaps they just don’t want to give pollsters the satisfaction of contributing to the impression that Trump is on the backfoot. Either way, with all but its base voters expressing misgivings, the administration now finds itself on shaky political ground.
Presidents can squeeze a lot of political leverage out of the general perception that their predecessor left them a mess that will take some time to clean up. By making a lot of big moves in a short period, Trump has claimed ownership of the economy. On balance, Americans do not think that this has been a positive development so far.