Donald Trump’s Trump approval rating on the economy fell to 33% in a new PBS News/NPR/Marist poll, the lowest since Marist began asking the question in 2019. Sixty percent of Americans now disapprove of how he is handling the economy, while his overall approval stands at 36% among adults.
Lee Miringoff of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion said, “it's Donald Trump, and that's where the slippage comes in. He can't get away with high prices at the pump and at the supermarket and not get tarnished by that”. The poll lands as 78% of Americans said gas prices had some effect on their household budgets, keeping affordability at the center of how people judge Trump.
Marist numbers since 2019
The 33% figure is within the margin of error from Trump’s previous all-time low earlier this year, and it marks a sharp turn from December 2020, when half of Americans approved of how Trump was handling the economy. Marist first began asking the question in 2019, giving the new result a clear comparison point over time.
Trump’s overall approval rating is also moving lower. The latest poll puts him at 36% among adults, and that continues a downward trend that began in March 2025. For readers watching the broader picture, the economic number is now running below the already weak overall rating.
Trump voters still approve
The same poll shows the support is not falling evenly across the electorate. Seventy-seven percent of people who voted for Trump in 2024 still approve of how he is handling the economy, and 54% of white voters without a college degree say the same. That leaves most of the overall disapproval coming from outside those groups, especially among independent voters, 64% of whom say they either disapprove or strongly disapprove.
Republicans are not unanimous either. Eighteen percent said they either disapprove or strongly disapprove of Trump, even as the president’s own coalition still gives him solid approval on the economy. The split shows a clear gap between his base and the broader public view.
GasBuddy price pressure
Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy said, “There is still some very real pain. The average fill-up is still in the ballpark of $8 to $16 more than it was a year ago”. Gas prices are down about 50 cents per gallon from last month, but they remain about 79 cents higher than they were last year, and much of the United States still sees gas above $4 per gallon.
That leaves Trump with a narrower opening than the headline approval number suggests. His strongest support remains among people who voted for him in 2024, but the broader polling shows that Americans are still linking him to the price they pay at the pump and at the supermarket.
The immediate question is whether that gap keeps widening if household costs stay elevated. For now, the poll says Trump still has loyalty inside his coalition, but he has not turned economic pain into a broader approval gain.
