At the lowest point of his tenure his popularity declined Donald Trump. A growing number of Americans are expressing dissatisfaction with the US President’s handling of the cost of living, according to a new poll of Reuters/Ipsos.
The three-day poll, which ended Oct. 26, showed 40 percent of Americans approving of Donald Trump’s performance, compared to 42 percent in the Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Oct. 15-20.
Trump’s popularity has fluctuated by a percentage point or two in Reuters/Ipsos polls since mid-May. The percentage of those who disapprove of his performance has increased, from 52% in the May 16-18 poll to 57% in the latest survey.
Trump won the election by promising to tackle the rising inflation that plagued his predecessor Joe Biden. However, Americans give Trump extremely low marks for how he has managed the costs burdening American households, and twice as many Americans disapprove of cost-of-living management as those who approve of it. The rate of inflation has risen since Trump took office in January, while the labor market has weakened, prompting the country’s central bank to cut interest rates.
Trump and the shutdown
Survey results show that many Americans express limited concern about the ongoing shutdown of federal services (shutdown), the second largest in US history, which has forced hundreds of thousands of federal employees to furlough. About 29% say they are either not interested or are satisfied with the shutdown, while 20% say they are angry. About 50% say they are disappointed. Most respondents said the shutdown had little or no impact on their lives.
About 73% of those polled support Democrats’ position on renewing health insurance subsidies that expire at the end of the year, despite the counterargument of increasing the federal deficit.