Trump approval hits lowest point as voters blame him for economic woes

It’s the question that energized President Donald Trump and Republicans in the 2024 elections, as they won back majorities in the White House and Senate and retained control of the House.

But a year later, the economy, and in particular daily expenses, are working against the president and his party.

Democrats, who generally emphasize affordability, have outperformed in the polls as they enjoyed broad success at the polls in the 2025 elections earlier this month.

And a new Fox News national poll released Wednesday night is another warning sign for Trump and the Republican Party.

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS SAY WHITE HOUSE IS DOING MORE HARM THAN GOOD TO THE ECONOMY

Three-quarters of voters polled in the survey, conducted Friday through Monday, have a negative view of the economy, and a large number of respondents, including Republicans, said their costs for groceries, utilities, health care and housing have increased this year.

The poll indicates voters blame the president, with nearly twice as many people pointing the finger at Trump as former President Joe Biden, when asked who is responsible for the current economy.

Only 38% of respondents gave the president a positive assessment of his management of the economy. And Trump’s overall approval rating, at 41%, is the lowest of his second term according to a Fox News poll.

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“The situation is not complicated,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who is participating in the Fox News poll with Democrat Chris Anderson. “People are struggling to afford basic necessities and are blaming those responsible. What’s interesting is seeing Democrats gain politically from a problem they arguably caused – and which will crush them in 2024. But that’s politics.”

Trump benefited from positive economic news on Thursday, releasing a better-than-expected jobs report after several months of weakness.

U.S. employers added 119,000 jobs in September, according to federal government data delayed by several weeks because of the government shutdown. But the report also said the unemployment rate increased to 4.4%.

The Fox News investigation is the latest national survey to highlight political anxiety over the economy.

Jack Heath, host of a popular morning radio show in the swing state of New Hampshire, told Fox News Digital that when he interviews congressional candidates and asks them what the voters they meet on the campaign trail think, they tell him that voters “talk about how they can’t afford anything. It’s affordability. It’s the cost of living.”

“I think there’s a very short window before the midterm elections where the president has to… go back to the blue-collar workers who are working. They’re feeling optimistic, but they’re becoming more and more pessimistic and thinking that ‘I’m not keeping as much money as I would like and I’m working hard,'” Heath, the “Good Morning NH” host, said, referring to next year’s midterm elections, when the Republican Party will make its case in the Congress. majorities.

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Pointing to Democrats’ double-digit gubernatorial victories in the 2025 elections in New Jersey and Virginia, as well as clashes at the ballot box in the battlegrounds of Georgia and Pennsylvania and left-leaning New York and California, Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said his party’s candidates are “meeting voters at the kitchen table… From New Jersey to Virginia and New York to Georgia and beyond, Democrats have run relentless campaigns focused on costs and affordability.”

President Donald Trump holds a chart as he discusses the economy in the Oval Office of the White House, August 7, 2025, in Washington. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

Trump, in his first post-election interview of 2025, told Fox News’ Bret Baier earlier this month that when it comes to inflation, “we’ve done so much… Energy is down… We’re going to have $2 gasoline.”

And the president argued in his “Special Report” interview that this is more of a messaging problem for the GOP. “As Republicans, you need to talk about this.”

But Trump and his team have focused since this month’s election on tackling rising prices.

“We are making incredible progress to make America affordable again,” Trump said Wednesday.

But polls suggest Americans don’t believe the White House’s message.

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“Voters are remarkably consistent in their priorities: the economy, the economy, the economy,” noted Wayne Lesperance, a veteran political scientist and president of New England College.

“When you win an election, voters expect you to do something to address their concerns and the reality is that affordability issues remain unchanged in their importance to the ordinary voter,” Lesspérance stressed.