Poll shows Trump’s approval rating ticks lower as economic concerns weigh on Americans
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Just 39 per cent of respondents in the poll said President Donald Trump was doing a good job managing the US economy, unchanged from a week earlier.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump’s approval rating ticked slightly lower this week to 42 per cent, matching the lowest level of his new term as Americans kept a dour view of his handling of the US economy, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The results of the three-day poll, which concluded on May 18, showed a marginal dip from a week earlier when a Reuters/Ipsos survey showed that 44 per cent of Americans approved of the job Mr Trump was doing as president. The poll has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
While low by historical standards, Mr Trump’s popularity remains higher than it was for much of his first term as president and is also stronger than what his Democrat predecessor, Mr Joe Biden, had during the second half of his 2021-2025 term.
Mr Trump’s high point remains his 47 per cent rating in the hours after his return to the White House in January. His approval has shown little movement in recent weeks. Just 39 per cent of respondents in the poll said Mr Trump was doing a good job managing the US economy, unchanged from a week earlier.
Mr Trump won the 2024 presidential election on a promise to bring about a golden age for the US economy, but his aggressive measures to reshape global commerce – including levying heavy tariffs on major trading partners – have increased the risks of recession, economists say.
Inflation rates in the US soared under Mr Biden but have been trending lower for several years. Some 33 per cent of respondents in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll gave Mr Trump a thumbs-up on how he was managing the cost of living, up from 31 per cent a week earlier.
Many economists, however, expect inflation will heat back up as tariffs put pressure on the profits of importers.
Mr Trump on May 17 urged Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, to “eat the tariffs” instead of blaming them for the retailer’s increased prices.
He has urged the country’s independent central bank, the Federal Reserve, to lower interest rates, but central bankers have also expressed worry about the prospects of higher inflation.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted online and nationwide, surveyed 1,024 US adults from May 16 to 18. REUTERS
