A poll found that voters' assessments of U.S. President Donald Trump's response to inflation and his economic policies have fallen to the lowest level since he took office. With food prices continuing to climb and energy prices remaining volatile, analysts noted that warning lights have turned on for the economy, long seen as Trump's core political asset.
The Financial Times (FT) reported on the 7th, citing results from a joint survey with pollster Focaldata, that negative views of Trump's response to inflation have expanded significantly.
In the survey, which evaluated Trump's job performance across 10 areas, negative views in the "inflation and cost of living" category were the highest at 69%. Positive views were 18%. The negative share rose by 10 percentage points from a month earlier.
Dissatisfaction with the response to inflation also grew within the Republican base. Among Republican supporters, the negative share came to 43%, up sharply from 26% a month earlier.
Many respondents also placed responsibility for higher food prices on Trump's policies. Overall, 67% said the Trump administration's policies affected the rise in food prices. Even among Republicans, 53%—more than half—held the same view. By contrast, fewer than 8% said Trump's policies lowered food prices.
FT said U.S. food prices in April rose 2.9% from a year earlier, the fastest pace since 2023. Fruit and vegetable prices rose 6.1% over the same period. The May consumer price report due on the 10th could show an even higher rate of food price inflation, it added.
The paper analyzed that international oil prices have risen amid recent instability in the Middle East surrounding Iran, pushing up gasoline and diesel prices and spreading increases across broader living costs.
Assessments of the overall economy were also negative. Some 64% said the U.S. economy is heading in the wrong direction. The share saying the economy is on the right track was 26%, down slightly from a month earlier.
Still, recent jobs data showed improvement. According to FT, average monthly job growth in the United States over the past three months was 188,000. However, May's wage growth was 3.4% from a year earlier, below the estimated inflation rate of 3.8%, which analysts said has failed to translate into gains in real purchasing power.
Negative views also prevailed outside the economy. In the areas of national liability and government expenditure, positives were 22% and negatives 59%, while for tariff and trade policy, positives were 26% and negatives 57%. Iran policy, dwellings policy, and jobs and the economy also saw negative assessments exceed a majority.
By contrast, in immigration and border security, positives were 41% and negatives 46%, a relatively small gap.
Trump's overall job approval was 37% positive and 56% negative, little changed from a month earlier.
Meanwhile, in a hypothetical preference poll for next year's midterm elections for the U.S. House of Representatives, 50% said they support the Democratic candidate and 45% the Republican candidate. The Democrats maintained an edge, but the gap between the two parties narrowed slightly from a month earlier.
The White House maintained that inflationary pressures are a temporary phenomenon. White House deputy spokesperson Kushi Desai told FT, "There was a short-term shock due to Iran's threat to energy transport," adding, "As policy effects take hold, inflation will slow and economic growth will accelerate."
The survey was conducted from May 29 to June 1 among 1,537 registered U.S. voters, with a margin of error of ±2.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.