CBS poll shows souring views of economy and Trump’s handling

Americans were judging Donald Trump less on headline economic stats than on what they felt at the grocery store, in rent bills and on monthly credit-card statements. CBS News polling showed a persistent gap between the administration’s message and the public’s mood, with most respondents saying Trump made prices and inflation sound better than they really are and many still describing the country as too expensive to live in.

That unease had built through late 2025 and into 2026. In December, fewer than one in five Americans said Trump’s policies made them financially better off in 2025, and many said the president’s approach had made it more like “Trump’s economy” than Joe Biden’s. A February CBS News poll found that most Americans still wanted Trump to focus on the economy and cost of living in his State of the Union address, even as views of the economy had improved somewhat from the worst readings in late 2025.

The latest readings showed why that improvement had not translated into confidence. Most Americans still called the economy bad, and CBS polling repeatedly pointed to affordability as the central source of frustration: food prices, housing costs and health care bills kept showing up as the pressure points shaping public judgment. Tariffs and gas prices added to the strain, while many voters said the White House was not spending enough attention on lowering prices.

The political damage was visible across other surveys as well. A CNN poll released April 1 found just 31% of Americans approved of Trump’s handling of the economy, while 65% said his policies had worsened conditions. CBS News also found on March 3 that most Hispanics continued to rate the economy badly, said their incomes were not keeping up with inflation and mostly disapproved of Trump’s handling of the economy and inflation.

The result is a familiar problem for a president whose appeal has long rested on economic competence. Polling from CBS News suggested many voters were no longer comparing the current moment to the Biden years; they were judging Trump on whether their everyday costs were easing. With the 2026 midterm cycle approaching, that perception gap looked more politically important than any single economic indicator.