Poll: Perceptions of President Trump

This Navigator Research report covers perceptions of President Trump, his handling of the economy, and his tariff plan.

Americans disapprove of President Trump’s handling of the presidency by 13 points (42 percent approve – 55 percent disapprove) and an even greater share disapprove of his handling of the economy (41 percent approve – 57 percent disapprove).

Among independents, both the President’s overall approval and economic approval are underwater by more than 30 points (overall; 28 percent approve – 63 percent disapprove, economic; 27 percent approve – 63 percent disapprove), the lowest it’s been since his inauguration in January (overall; 40 percent approve – 47 percent disapprove, economic; 40 percent approve – 43 percent disapprove).

In focus groups conducted in May among passive news consumers, one Democratic man stated: “I don’t think the current leadership in this country knows what the hell they’re doing. I think they’re completely incompetent, and I think that’s a major problem.”

A majority of Americans are hearing negative information about Trump (52 percent), with a notable drop of positive news since his inauguration (-11 points).

When asked “In a few words, what negative things have you seen, read, or heard recently about Donald Trump?” dominating answers are “Elon Musk,” “Tariffs,” and “Big Beautiful Bill.”

Since inauguration, negative news on tariffs has remained consistent across parties. In May focus groups a Democratic woman summed it up: “I think for the tariffs, for example, like him going back and forth so much, it’s just a way to allow his rich counterparts to be able to play the stock market.”

Less than a third of Americans express favorability towards tariffs (28 percent), and opposition to Trump’s tariff plan continues to grow, increasing from 52 percent to 57 percent since March.

Views of the economy overall and personal finances remain deeply negative:

• 70 percent of Americans rate today’s economy negatively and a majority say it’s only going to get worse (54 percent).
• American’s views of their personal finances are equally as grim with 56 percent saying they feel uneasy about their personal financial situation over the next few months.
• 68 percent say that the tariffs have already made costs go up, and 64 percent say that prices will be even higher, as a result of the tariffs, 5 years from now.

By a margin of 8 points, Democrats in Congress are more trusted to “tell the truth” about tariffs, but still have not won the trust of the majority (48 percent Democrats – 40 percent Trump/Republicans).