Inflation is Americans' most important political issue — and one where Trump is particularly unpopular

The share of Americans who strongly or somewhat approve of how Donald Trump is handling his job as president bounced up from last week's second-term low, but remains very low as Americans increasingly worry about inflation.

38% of Americans strongly or somewhat approve of Trump's job handling, and 55% disapprove, for a net job approval of -17. That's up from last week's net approval of -23. But a three-week rolling average of Trump's net job approval remains near record lows at -19, and has trended downward since late 2025.

Trump's low approval comes amid a spike of attention to inflation and prices. 34% of Americans say inflation/prices is their most important issue, up from 23% last week and higher than at any time since Economist / YouGov polls began asking about inflation as its own issue in July 2022. (The list of issues Americans could pick from on this question has changed over time. Two surveys listed "inflation" as an option, while others listed "inflation/prices.")

Similar shares of Democrats and Republicans say inflation is their most important issue (36% vs. 37%). Both are up substantially from last week's poll.

This rise in concern over inflation matters for opinion of Trump because most Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling inflation: 29% strongly or somewhat approve and 64% disapprove. That net issue approval of -35 is a record low for Trump's current term.

Americans are also more likely to disapprove of how Trump is handling inflation than they are of his handling of the economy overall: 37% approve of how he's handling jobs and the economy, and 56% disapprove, a net issue approval of -20.

While approval of Trump's handling of the economy went up in this week's poll — in line with Trump's overall job approval — approval of Trump's handling of inflation went down. 23% of Americans who say they approve of Trump's overall job handling disapprove of how he's handling inflation. Almost no one who disapproves of Trump's overall job handling approves of how he's handling inflation.

Since the February 6 - 9 poll — before the war with Iran — net approval for Trump's handling of inflation has fallen to -35 from -23. It has declined among Democrats (-95 from -92), Independents (-52 from -41), and Republicans (+40 from +50).

Image: Getty (Pool / Pool)

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