President Donald Trump is losing ground on one of his top priorities—the economy—according to two recent polls that found his handling of it is slipping.

A New York Times/Siena College poll found that half of registered voters it surveyed believe the president has made the economy worse since taking office while an Associated Press-NORC poll found just over a third who were questioned approve of his handling of the issue.

Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment on Saturday.

Why It Matters

As the first 100 days of his second presidency come to a close next week, Trump’s approval rating and marks for handling the economy are slipping amid a flurry of economic moves, according to recent polls.

Throughout both of his campaigns and presidencies, Trump has positioned himself as a dealmaker and economic steward who could “bring back jobs,” lower costs, and “Make America Great Again.” He largely campaigned on economic and immigration policies, pledging to levy numerous tariffs and increase U.S. manufacturing, as well as cracking down on illegal immigration.

But amid rising inflation, a mounting trade war with countries like China and Canada, and concerns about a recession, polls show voters don’t appear to trust Trump on the economy, with his approval ratings on the topic taking a sharp downturn over the month of April, according to a series of polls.

Trump’s tariffs and shakeup of global trade has rattled global and domestic markets, with Wall Street tanking over the past month, marking the worst days for the U.S. stock markets since 2020. Markets later rebounded after Trump paused a broad set of retaliatory tariffs against numerous countries, but many businesses and consumers remain in limbo as the current economic policy remain uncertain.

Many economists, including Nobel laurate Paul Krugman, as well as financial firms, Democrats, and some Republicans have warned that Trump’s tariff policy would spark a recession, while the Trump administration has not ruled out the possibility, noting the transition period will be marked with some market “disruption,” and urging Americans to “hang tough” through the “economic revolution.”

What To Know

Trump’s economic policies did not fare well among 913 registered voters surveyed in a New York Times/Siena College poll or the 1,260 adults interviewed in the AP-NORC poll.

In the New York Times/Siena College poll, which was conducted April 21 to 24 and published on Friday, half of participants, 50 percent, said the president has made the economy worse since taking office three months ago, while 21 percent said the economy was better, and 27 percent found it about the same.

When asked if Trump’s economic changes have been a “good thing for the country or a bad thing,” a majority said bad, 50 percent, while 36 percent found them to be good and 10 percent said neither good nor bad.

In terms of voter approval of Trump’s handling of the economy, 42 percent approve, with 24 percent strongly approving and 18 percent somewhat approving, while 55 percent disapprove, 42 percent strongly and 13 percent somewhat.

Just over three-fourths of participants, 76 percent, described the economy as fair or poor, while 22 percent rated it as excellent or good. Among those who gave the economy a poor rating, 52 percent had voted for Trump in the 2024 election.

The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

Americans’ picture of the economy wasn’t much better for Trump on another survey, an AP-NORC poll that was conducted between April 12 and 21 and published on Saturday. The poll found 37 percent approved of Trump’s handling of the economy.

Democrats and Republicans view the issue drastically differently, with 72 percent of Republicans backing Trump’s economic policy and 12 percent of Democrats approving it. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

Meanwhile, the latest Fox News poll, conducted between April 18-21 among 1,104 registered voters, also recorded a notable downturn. In March, Trump held a 43 percent approval rating on the economy. That number has since slipped to 38 percent, while disapproval remains significant at 56 percent.

Gallup polling puts Trump’s second-term job approval rating at 44 percent, down 3 points from his inauguration. His approval is lower than former President Joe Biden‘s 57 percent at the 100-day mark and 5 points lower than Trump’s 49 percent approval in March.

What People Are Saying

President Donald Trump said in an April Truth Social post: “THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

Cato Institute Vice President of General Economics Scott Lincicome told CNN earlier this month: “Markets are relieved a bit, but I don’t know how you could possibly think the U.S. is a sound, safe and stable place to invest when the president is flipping tariffs on and off like a light switch and there could be more of these things in a mere 90 days. So, a bit of a reprieve, but we’re definitely not out of the woods.”

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates said during a recent NBC News interview: “I think that right now we are at a decision-making point and very close to a recession, and I’m worried about something worse than a recession if this isn’t handled well.”

“Such times are very much like the 1930s. I’ve studied history, and history repeats over and over again. If you take tariffs, if you take debt, and the rising power challenging an existing power, and those factors—those changes in the orders, the systems—are very, very disruptive. How that’s handled could produce something that’s much worse than a recession, or it can be handled well.”

What Happens Next?

Trump’s economic policy remains uncertain. He placed a 90-day pause on dozens of retaliatory tariffs that briefly took effect earlier in April, while the administration says dozens of countries are seeking negotiations with the U.S. Tariffs on China remain intact amid growing tensions. It is not clear what the president’s next economic policy moves may be.