President Trump’s fiscal policies are becoming increasingly unpopular amid economic strains resulting from the Iran war, according to new polling.
The Associated Press-NORC Research Center survey, released Wednesday, showed the president’s economic approval rating slumped down to 30 percent this month. This is an 8-point decrease from March and 9-point fall from February.
The April data also marks a new low grade for the president on his handling of the economy, which was a cornerstone of his 2024 presidential campaign. Trump previously hit a 31 percent approval rating on the issue of the economy last December.
Additionally, only 33 percent of respondents in the AP-NORC poll indicated support for his overall job performance, a decrease from 38 percent last month.
This new data comes amid the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran, currently under a fragile ceasefire, which has now stretched for over 53 days. Contests over control of the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil trading corridor, have strained global supplies and sent the price of fuel skyrocketing.
The average cost of standard gas in the U.S. also increased during the strikes, hitting over $4 a gallon at the end of March. American business leaders have warned of long-term impacts on the U.S. economy if fuel costs remain high.
Consumer prices in the U.S. experienced their highest rate increase in nearly four years in March, driven almost entirely by hiked energy costs.
Trump dismissed concerns about rising inflation and prices last week, telling a Las Vegas crowd there was “some fake inflation because of the fuel, the energy prices.”
White House spokesperson Kush Desai responded to the latest polling data in a statement to The Hill on Wednesday morning.
“America remains on a solid economic trajectory thanks to the Trump administration’s agenda of deregulation, tax cuts, and energy abundance,” Desai wrote. “This same agenda delivered historic job, wage, and economic growth in President Trump’s first term, and trillions in investment commitments along with robust productivity and real wage growth reflect how this agenda is again laying the groundwork for America’s long-term economic resurgence.”
The issue of affordability is expected to play a major role in the midterm elections, after Republicans already lost several critical races in New Jersey, Virginia and Georgia last year due to voters’ concerns about rising costs.
The AP-NORC poll was conducted from April 16-20 among 2,596 U.S. adults. It has a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points.
