- Americans don't like President Donald Trump's economic policies.
- For the first time, a CNN poll found a majority of respondents disapprove of Trump's handling of the economy.
- Trump has signaled that he will press ahead with tariffs no matter how markets respond.
Americans are souring on President Donald Trump's handling of the economy.
In a CNN/SSRS poll released on Wednesday, a majority of respondents (56%) disapproved of the president's handling of the economy for the first time since they began polling the topic in his first term.
His previous worst rating in this survey fell in December 2017, with a 49% disapproval and 44% approval rating on the economy.
In a separate question, respondents overwhelmingly expressed displeasure with Trump's tariffs. More than 60% of respondents disapprove of the tariffs, the highest of any category pollsters asked about. Trump's highest marks were in his handling of immigration, with 51% of respondents approving his actions.
In response to the polling, the White House said that business leaders have responded to Trump's policies by making major investments in the US.
"Since President Trump was elected, industry leaders have responded to President Trump's America First economic agenda of tariffs, deregulation, and the unleashing of American energy with trillions in investment commitments that will create thousands of new jobs," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement to Business Insider. "President Trump delivered historic job, wage, and investment growth in his first term, and is set to do so again in his second term."
Trump has doubled down on his shifting tariff policy, arguing that the nation should ignore the stock market slump in favor of potential long-term economic gains. On Wednesday, the White House followed through with Trump's promise to impose a 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum.
Business leaders have complained about the uncertainty of the situation as various tariffs are rolled out and then curtailed sometimes within the same day.
"You'll have a lot, but we may go up with some tariffs, it depends, we may go up, I don't we'll go down, but we may go up," Trump told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo in an interview that aired on Sunday when she asked if businesses had enough clarity on tariff plans.
"They have plenty of clarity, they just use that, it's almost like a sound bite, 'We want clarity.'"
The White House has also refused to rule out the possibility of a recession. Trump and his top economic advisors have also warned that tariffs may lead to "an adjustment period" with possible price increases.
Other polling has shown similar struggles.
A recent Emmerson College poll found that 48% of registered voters disapproved of Trump's handling of the economy. A February Gallup poll of US adults found that 54% disapproved of his handling of the economy.
In comparison, President Joe Biden had far worse numbers. Biden's economic approval never exceeded 40% from the start of 2022 until he left office. In CNN's final poll before he left office, 67% of respondents disapproved of Biden's handling of the economy.
The good news for Trump is that he's run his last campaign. If the current trend continues, congressional Republicans may be stuck with the bill. The president's party typically loses seats in the midterm elections, and Democrats would need to net only a handful of seats to flip the House.
Trump's overall approval is slipping, too. He began his second term with relatively meager numbers, and in recent days those have started to dip as well. According to Nate Silver's Silver Bulletin weighted average, Trump has a net negative approval.
