- Trump’s approval among working-class Americans earning under $50K plunged to a net -28 points, signaling a major erosion of his 2024 support.
- Rising grocery prices, SNAP cuts, tariffs, and perceived elite lifestyle contrast are driving working-class disillusionment ahead of crucial midterms.
President Donald Trump’s return to the White House was supposed to be a triumph for the blue-collar heartland that propelled him back to power.
Just a year after flipping key Rust Belt states with promises of economic revival, fresh polling paints a starkly different picture: Trump’s approval among working-class Americans—those scraping by on less than $50,000 a year—has sunk into negative territory by a whopping 28 points.
It’s a red flag that’s got GOP strategists sweating bullets as midterms loom.
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The numbers come straight from a recent Economist/YouGov survey, which pegs approval at a dismal 34 percent in that income bracket, with 62 percent voicing disapproval.
That’s not just a dip; it’s a dive that echoes broader frustrations bubbling up from kitchen tables across the country.
For a president who rode a wave of working-class support to victory in 2024—boosting his share of under-$50K voters from 44 percent in 2020 to 50 percent last year, per Roper Center exit polls—this slide feels like a betrayal of that hard-won trust.
Dig a little deeper, and the story gets even more telling.
Trump’s overall net approval sits at -19 points (38 percent approve, 57 percent disapprove), but it’s the low earners pulling the average down.
Folks making $50,000 to $100,000 are only 12 points underwater, and those over $100,000 are at -10 points—still negative, but a far cry from the working stiffs’ revolt.
It’s like the higher up the income ladder you climb, the rosier things look. Or at least, less stormy.
This isn’t some one-off blip. Back in September, Trump’s net with low earners was a “mere” -15 points.
By early October, it had eroded to -24, according to another Economist/YouGov snapshot.
The Cause of Trump’s Approval Rating Plunge?
What’s driving the nosedive? Polling doesn’t hand out direct answers, but the dots connect pretty easily to the economy—the issue Trump himself hammered home during the campaign, vowing to slay inflation like a dragon.
Fast-forward to now: Tariffs on trading partners are rolling out, jacking up costs on everything from imported steel to the sneakers on kids’ feet.
Then there’s the government shutdown that hit like a gut punch, slashing funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
That’s food on the table for 42 million low-income Americans, and when those benefits flicker, it’s not abstract—it’s empty fridges and tough choices at the checkout line.
Grocery prices are still climbing, health care premiums feel like they’re orbiting the moon, and everyday folks are left wondering if the “America First” agenda is leaving them last in line.
Expert Opinions
Mark Shanahan, an American politics lecturer at the University of Surrey in the U.K., shared his take.
He didn’t mince words: “The sluggish economy” and “the increasingly ostentatious opulence” of Trump’s lifestyle are turning off the very voters who once saw him as their champion.
“There’s little spare cash in the average American’s wallet,” Shanahan told Newsweek.
“Every trip to the supermarket costs a little more. And unavoidable expenses such as health care premiums are turning stratospheric. Trump keeps talking about cutting the cost of living, but his rhetoric isn’t matched by delivery.”
He painted an even sharper contrast, pointing to Trump’s frequent jaunts to the golf course and what looks like a presidency that’s padding his own pockets—from crypto windfalls to legal battles with foreign media outlets.
“Trump, quite simply, no longer appears the outsider president fighting for the dispossessed,” Shanahan said. “For many working-class Americans, he’s no longer on their side.”
Ouch. It’s the kind of critique that stings because it taps into a narrative Trump spent years dismantling: the elite Washington insider versus the scrappy fighter for forgotten folks.
Now, with Mar-a-Lago vibes seeping into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, that image is fraying at the edges.
Trump, never one to let a poll go unchallenged, fired back earlier this month on Truth Social: “So many Fake Polls are being shown by the Radical Left Media, all slanted heavily toward Democrats and Far Left Wingers. … Fake News will never change, they are evil and corrupt but, as I look around my beautiful surroundings, I say to myself, ‘Oh, look, I’m sitting in the Oval Office!'”
Classic deflection—brush it off as media witchcraft, remind everyone who’s in charge.
But as another fresh Economist/YouGov poll underscores, his second-term approval has hit a low of 39 percent (58 percent disapprove), right in line with this working-class slump.
What Happens Now?
So, what’s next for a president staring down a fractured base?
The midterms in 2026 are already casting a long shadow, with Republicans clinging to a razor-thin House majority.
Lose the working class for good, and those gains from ’24 could evaporate faster than a desert mirage.
Trump’s team will no doubt pivot hard on economic wins—maybe touting job numbers or tax tweaks—but with inflation still biting and policies like tariffs sparking trade spats, the road ahead looks bumpy.
Voters aren’t won back with tweets alone. They’ll be watching paychecks, pantries, and that next trip to the pump.
If Trump wants to reclaim his everyman cred, it’s time to deliver more than golden escalators and golf swings.
The working class didn’t just vote for him—they bet on him.
Right now, that bet’s looking riskier than ever.
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