- Voter impressions of the economy plunged under Trump: 76% now rate it poor or fair, up from 67% in July.
- Everyday costs bite: 85% report higher grocery bills; housing, utilities, and debt burdens have surged across demographics.
- Public blames Trump: 62% hold him responsible for economic struggles, eroding his signature campaign argument on the economy.
WASHINGTON — Just 10 months into Donald Trump’s second term, the glow of his 2024 victory is fading fast for many Americans, especially when it comes to their bank accounts.
A fresh Fox News poll released this week paints a stark picture: Voters now view the economy under Trump more negatively than they did at the tail end of Joe Biden’s presidency, with a whopping 76 percent rating it as poor or fair.
That’s a jump from 67 percent back in July, signaling a rapid souring of sentiment.
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The survey, conducted November 14-17 among 1,005 registered voters, couldn’t come at a worse time for the White House.
Inflation may have cooled somewhat — only 18 percent of respondents believe it’s mostly under control — but everyday costs are still climbing, and people are pointing fingers squarely at the man in charge.
A Personal Pinch That’s Hard to Ignore
Walk into any grocery store, and you’ll hear it: The sticker shock at the checkout line. The poll underscores this frustration, with 85 percent of voters reporting higher grocery bills compared to last year, including 60 percent who say prices have shot up “a lot.”
It’s not just food; housing, utilities, health care — you name it, costs are up across the board, according to overwhelming majorities from both parties.
This isn’t abstract national data; it’s hitting home hard.
Only 40 percent of Americans describe their household finances as good or excellent, while a majority — 60 percent — call them fair or poor.
The pain is particularly acute among younger voters under 45, those without college degrees, lower-income families, and Hispanic and Black communities.
For these groups, the American Dream feels more like a deferred payment plan than a promise.
New car prices, for instance, have ballooned to an average above $50,000, turning what used to be a practical purchase into a stretch for middle-class buyers.
And the numbers back up the squeeze: The New York Federal Reserve reports the nation’s total debt burden has swelled to $18.6 trillion, the highest in two decades of tracking.
Credit card balances alone — that revolving debt — hit $1.2 trillion after another yearly surge.
Even food-at-home prices ticked up 2.7 percent in the 12 months through September, per the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.
Trump, ever the fighter, has tried to deflect. Back in March, during his address to Congress, he laid it out plainly: “we inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare.”
At a White House event that same month, he doubled down, claiming the U.S. and its economy “went to hell” under Biden.
But the poll suggests that script isn’t landing anymore.
By a nearly 2-to-1 margin, voters hold Trump more responsible for the current mess than Biden — 62 percent to 32 percent.
The partisan split is telling: Democrats pile on with 81 percent blaming Trump, but even 42 percent of Republicans agree he’s got the bigger share of fault.
A slim majority of GOP voters — 53 percent — still finger Biden, while independents largely side with the majority view, at 62 percent pinning it on Trump.
From Boom to Bust in Public Perception
This isn’t just a blip; it’s a reversal of fortunes on Trump’s strongest suit. During his first term, in 2018, only 21 percent of voters said his policies had hurt them financially.
Fast forward to now, and it’s flipped: By a 31-point margin, people say Trump’s agenda has left them worse off.
At the close of Biden’s term, 70 percent saw the economy negatively — bad, sure, but today’s 76 percent under Trump marks a fresh low.
Republican pollster Daron Shaw, speaking to Fox News, cut through the noise: “The situation isn’t complicated. People are struggling to afford necessities and blaming those in charge.
What’s interesting is watching Democrats gain politically from a problem they arguably caused—and that crushed them in 2024.
But that’s politics.”
Shaw’s got a point. The economy was the albatross that sank Democrats last November, with inflation fears dominating the midterms and beyond.
Now, with Trump back in the Oval Office, the same voters who handed him a mandate are starting to grumble.
Approval of his economic handling has cratered to a new low, undercutting the core argument that powered his campaigns: Trust Trump with your money.
Policy Fixes or Band-Aids? The 50-Year Mortgage Debate Heats Up
The administration knows it’s in a bind. Trump has floated ideas to ease the burden, like proposing 50-year mortgages to slash monthly payments for homebuyers.
Spread out over five decades, it could make that $400,000 house feel a tad less impossible each month.
But not everyone’s buying it — literally or figuratively. Even within his own party, there’s pushback.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., fired off a sharp rebuke on X: “I don’t like 50-year mortgages as the solution to the housing affordability crisis.
It will ultimately reward banks, mortgage lenders and home builders while people pay far more in interest over time and die before they ever pay off their home.”
Economists echo the concern. A 50-year loan might lower the immediate hit, but it doubles the interest paid compared to a standard 30-year one.
Matt Schulz, chief consumer finance analyst at LendingTree, told CNN: “Generally speaking, the more you can avoid longer-than-usual loan terms, the better.”
As affordability woes fester, these proposals highlight the tightrope Trump walks.
Quick fixes risk alienating allies and experts, while doing nothing invites more polls like this one.
What This Means for Politics — and Your Next Paycheck
Zoom out, and the stakes are huge. Economic anxiety has long been the kingmaker in American elections, and this poll hints at a messaging makeover ahead.
Democrats, licking their wounds from ’24, smell blood in the water. Republicans, meanwhile, are scrambling to remind voters of pre-Trump-2.0 glory days.
For everyday folks, though, it’s less about polls and more about plates: Filling them without breaking the bank, or dreaming of homeownership without a lifetime sentence.
If these trends hold, Trump’s economic edge — the one that got him here — could become his biggest vulnerability.
One thing’s clear: In politics, as in the grocery aisle, perception is 90 percent of the battle.
And right now, it’s not looking great for the guy behind the checkout.
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