More than half Americans feel worse off financially under Trump

More than half of registered US voters say their financial situation has deteriorated since Donald Trump returned to the presidency in January 2025, according to a poll conducted by British research firm Focaldata for the Financial Times (FT).

Some 53% of respondents said their financial situation had worsened, while 26% reported no change in their finances and 21% said their financial circumstances had improved.

Overall, 64% of registered voters believe the US economy is heading in the wrong direction, while only 25% hold the opposite view.

The poll also found that 55% of registered voters disapprove of Trump’s performance as president, compared with 36% who approve. Americans gave the president his lowest ratings on efforts to combat inflation and the rising cost of living: 64% disapprove of his policies in these areas, while 21% approve. Trump’s handling of the situation surrounding the conflict in Iran received a 54% disapproval rating, compared with 27% approval.

Focaldata conducted the poll from August 7 to 10 among 1,913 registered voters in the United States. The margin of error was 2.9 percentage points.

The newspaper notes that the findings are particularly significant given that the US midterm elections will be held in several months, on November 3. One-third of the seats in the US Senate and all seats in the House of Representatives will be contested. Both chambers of Congress are currently controlled by Republicans.

By Jeyhun Aghazada