Throughout both of his campaigns and presidencies, Donald Trump has positioned himself as a dealmaker and economic steward—someone who could “bring back jobs” and lower costs.
But amid rising inflation, a mounting trade war with countries like China and Canada, and concerns about a recession, polls show that voters no longer trust Trump on the economy, with his approval ratings on the topic taking a sharp downturn over the month of April, according to a series of polls.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted between April 16-21 among 4,306 respondents, shows a steady decline since the start of the year. Trump’s economic approval was at 43 percent in late January; it has now dropped to 37 percent percent, a 6-point slide.
The lack of a clear economic victory in Trump’s second term—combined with persistent concerns about inflation—should be deeply worrying for the White House as the 2026 midterms approach, according to Thomas Gift, associate professor of political science and director of the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London.
The latest YouGov/Economist poll, conducted between April 19-22 among 1,625 respondents, also shows a significant shift. Just before Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariffs, his approval on the economy stood at 45 percent, with 48 percent disapproving (net -3). As of mid-April, that number has fallen to 41 percent approve and 53 percent disapprove—an overall 9-point swing, with a net -12 rating now. Both polls had a margin of error of +/- 3.3 percentage points.
New data from the Pew Research Center poll, conducted between April 7-13 among 3,589 Americans, further underscores the deepening economic skepticism. Just 45 percent of Americans now say Trump is making good decisions about economic policy—the lowest recorded by Pew on this question in either of his terms. That figure is down from 59 percent in November, immediately after his reelection, reflecting a 14-point drop. Americans are also now more likely to say the economy will be worse a year from now than they were in February (45 percent now, up from 37 percent then). The latest poll had a margin of error of +/- 1.8 percentage points.
The latest Fox News poll, conducted between April 18-21 among 1,104 registered voters, also recorded a notable downturn. In March, Trump held a 43 percent approval rating on the economy. That number has since slipped to 38 percent, while disapproval remains significant at 56 percent. And in the latest poll, his rating was also worse on inflation (33 percent approve, 59 percent disapprove). That is down from 40 percent approval in March and 58 percent disapproval.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Meanwhile, 72 percent are now “very” or “extremely” worried about the economy entering a recession this year. Both polls had a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.
Trump unveiled a new round of tariffs earlier this month. The announcement sent financial markets into turmoil: Wall Street suffered its worst single-day loss since the pandemic era, and global markets followed suit.
But although the stock market has partially recovered, fears about a recession persist—and they are eating away at his support, with polls now showing that Trump’s popularity is equal to or has fallen below levels seen during his first time in office, when he was one of the least popular presidents in history.
According to the latest Fox News poll, Trump’s approval rating currently sits at 44 percent, with 55 percent disapproving. That is down 1 point from Trump’s 45 percent approval at this point eight years ago, according to Fox News.
It is also lower than the approval of Joe Biden (54 percent), Barack Obama (62 percent), and George W. Bush (63 percent) at the 100-day mark in their presidencies, and is down 5 points from Trump’s 49 percent approval in March.
The new Pew Research poll found that Trump’s net approval sits at -19 points, with 40 percent approving and 59 percent disapproving. In late January and early February, his approval rating stood at 47 percent, with 51 percent disapproving.
His current rating puts him on par with his first term, when his approval rating sat at 40 percent at the same point. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.
Newsweek’s tracker also puts Trump’s approval rating at a new low, with 44 percent approving and 52 percent disapproving.
The latest YouGov/Economist poll showed the same trend, with 41 percent approving and 54 percent disapproving.
And in the latest YouGov/Elon University poll, conducted between April 10-17 among 1,000 respondents, Trump’s net approval fell to -6 points, with 41 percent approving and 47 percent disapproving. That is down from a net approval of +4 points in February, when 45 percent approved and 41 percent disapproved. Both polls had a margin of error of +/-3.5 percentage points.
However, it is not all bad news for Trump. The latest Quantus Insights poll, conducted between April 21-23 among 1,000 registered voters, showed a slight improvement in Trump’s approval rating since the last poll, conducted in early April, which showed that 47 percent approved and 50 percent disapproved. Now, 48 percent approve, while 50 percent disapprove.
However, Trump has yet to gain back the ground he made before his Liberation Day tariffs, according to Quantus, which showed that 46 disapproved at the end of March, while 49 percent approved. The latest poll had a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.
And according to Thomas Gift, that is something that should concern Trump, especially ahead of the midterms.
“Trump’s dips in approvals should be concerning, if not surprising, for the White House,” he told Newsweek. “While a panoply of reasons could be responsible for the decline—from tariffs to pardoning January 6 rioters, from failing to end the Russia-Ukraine war on day 1 to threatening Canada—Trump’s nearly first hundred days have been packed with controversy. Trump has always been more concerned with how his base reacts to his policies than the wider electorate. But if his poll ratings continue to crater, there are real questions about how long Republicans in Congress will kiss Trump’s ring with midterm elections slated for next year.”
Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty
