President Trump Approval - Economy | RealClearPolling

During a survey conducted in December 2020, 50 percent of respondents said they approve of how Donald Trump is handling the U.S. economy. 56 percent of respondents reported that they disapproved of how he is handling the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

President Trump Job Approval | RealClearPolling

President Biden Job Approval - Economy | RealClearPolling

In early April, claiming to boost the country's domestic economy, President Trump made an executive order to implement new, widespread tariffs. In addition to the 10 percent baseline tariff imposed on all U.S. imports, Trump also announced specific tariffs on a number of important trading partners, such as the European Union, China, and Vietnam, which account for over 40 percent of all U.S. imports. As of April 3, the day he announced the tariffs, over half of surveyed Americans disapproved of Trump's actions, with 40 percent strongly disapproving and 11 percent only somewhat disapproving.

In early April, claiming to boost the country's domestic economy, President Trump made an executive order to implement new, widespread tariffs. In addition to the 10 percent baseline tariff imposed on all U.S. imports, Trump also announced specific tariffs on a number of important trading partners, such as the European Union, China, and Vietnam, which account for over 40 percent of all U.S. imports. As of April 3, the day he announced the tariffs, over half of surveyed Americans disapproved of Trump's actions, with 40 percent strongly disapproving and 11 percent only somewhat disapproving. Of those who strongly disapproved, 69 percent were Democrats.

As of January 2025, about 41 percent of Americans approved of the way Joe Biden was handling his job as president. This is a slight increase from the previous month, when the President's approval rating sat at 40.3. Congressional Approval In March 2021, congressional approval reached a 12-year-high, with a 36 percent approval rating. However, congressional approval decreased in the following months. Approval ratings for Congress tend to be quite low, as many Americans have low trust in politicians and institutions in the country. The high approval rating in March 2021 came after Congress passed a COVID-19 relief bill to provide financial assistance to Americans during the pandemic. Handling of the pandemic Biden’s higher approval rating early in his presidency can, in-part, be attributed to how he tackled COVID-19. Taking a more hands-on approach in comparison to his predecessor, Biden supported mandated mask-wearing and expedited vaccines nationwide. About 40 percent of Americans either somewhat or strongly approved of the way the President was handling the virus, while about 45 percent either somewhat disapproved or strongly disapproved of his actions. As the two major parties disagreed on how to tackle the pandemic, existing divisions were further entrenched. A majority of the strong support came from Democrats, while most of the disapproval came from Republicans. Despite the low rating, the president's party performed relatively well at the 2022 midterm elections. While the economic situation in the United States was a large part of pre-election discourse, voters were more motivated by abortion rights and democracy.

Of the 22 global leaders listed, Narendra Modi of India was the politician with the highest domestic approval rating, at almost 80 percent, in contrast to less than one fifth of respondents who disapproved of his leadership. The Indian Primer Minister was reelected in a general election in the spring of 2024, but his party lost its majority in parliament. Meanwhile, recently inaugurated U.S. president Donald Trump saw his approval rating drop below 50 percent this month. Emmanuel Macron of France is the leader of a major economy with the worst approval rating.

This data package includes the underlying data files to replicate the data, tables, and charts presented in Why Trump’s tariff proposals would harm working Americans, PIIE Policy Brief 24-1.

If you use the data, please cite as: Clausing, Kimberly, and Mary E. Lovely. 2024. Why Trump’s tariff proposals would harm working Americans. PIIE Policy Brief 24-1. Washington, DC: Peterson Institute for International Economics.

In early April, claiming to boost the country's domestic economy, President Trump made an executive order to implement new, widespread tariffs. In addition to the 10 percent baseline tariff imposed on all U.S. imports, Trump also announced specific tariffs on a number of important trading partners, such as the European Union, China, and Vietnam, which account for over 40 percent of all U.S. imports. According to a survey taken just after the announcement, almost 50 percent of surveyed Americans supported the automatic expiration of tariffs after 60 days if Congress hasn't approved them yet.

A survey of U.S. adults from March 2025 found that 45 percent of respondents disapproved of the U.S. ending most USAID programs, while 35 percent approved of ending these programs. In January 2025, President Trump ordered a pause on funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and a 90-day review of all U.S. foreign assistance. By the end of March, the review had been completed, 83 percent of USAID programs were terminated, and it was announced that certain USAID functions would be overtaken by the Department of State while all others would be discontinued. Trump has said that the United States spends too much on foreign aid and accused USAID of being corrupt and a waste of money. However, foreign aid accounts for just one percent of the federal budget. Furthermore, it is predicted that millions of people will die due to the dissolution of USAID, as vulnerable people around the world will no longer be able to access prevention and treatment for diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

COVID-19 has forced governments worldwide—many previously prioritizing austerity—to approve large relief packages. Political economy tells us politicians will try to profit electorally, but much remains unknown about precisely how pandemic relief might influence voting intentions. Then-President Donald Trump foregrounded this question early in the coronavirus pandemic by becoming the first U.S. president to physically place his name on IRS relief checks mailed to citizens. Leveraging a nationally representative survey whose timing achieves quasi-experimental variation in the receipt of payments both with and without Trump’s name literally on them, this study asks: Can a president successfully win support through physical personalization of the payments? Yes, it finds. Receiving a physically personalized check in the mail is associated with a much greater self-reported likelihood of voting for the president, with gains mainly from partisan outgroups. No clear effect is found for unpersonalized transfers. These findings withstand multiple robustness checks.

A survey of U.S. adults from March 2025 found that 42 percent of those aged 65 years and older approved of the U.S. ending most USAID programs. In comparison, just 24 percent of those aged 18 to 29 years approved of ending these programs. In January 2025, President Trump ordered a pause on funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and a 90-day review of all U.S. foreign assistance. By the end of March, the review had been completed, 83 percent of USAID programs were terminated, and it was announced that certain USAID functions would be overtaken by the Department of State while all others would be discontinued. Trump has said that the United States spends too much on foreign aid and accused USAID of being corrupt and a waste of money. However, foreign aid accounts for just one percent of the federal budget. Furthermore, it is predicted that millions of people will die due to the dissolution of USAID, as vulnerable people around the world will no longer be able to access prevention and treatment for diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

According to exit polling in the 2020 Presidential Election in the United States, ** percent of surveyed voters making less than 50,000 U.S. dollars reported voting for former Vice President Joe Biden. In the race to become the next president of the United States, ** percent of voters with an income of 100,000 U.S. dollars or more reported voting for incumbent President Donald Trump.

As of June 2025, 56 percent of people in Great Britain thought that it was wrong to leave the European Union, compared with 31 percent who thought it was the right decision. During this time period, the share of people who regret Brexit has been slightly higher than those who support it, except for some polls in Spring 2021, which showed higher levels of support for Brexit. Is Bregret setting in? Since late July 2022, the share of people who regret Brexit in these surveys has consistently been above 50 percent. Additionally, a survey from January 2025 highlighted that most people in the UK thought that Brexit had had a mainly negative impact, especially on the cost of living and the economy. Despite there being a clear majority of voters who now regret Brexit, there is as yet no particular future relationship with the EU that has overwhelming support. As of late 2023, 31 percent of Britons wanted to rejoin the EU, while 30 percent merely wanted to improve trade relations and not rejoin either the EU or the single market. Leave victory in 2016 defied the polls In the actual referendum, which took place on June 23, 2016, Leave won 51.9 percent of the votes and Remain 48.1 percent, after several polls in the run-up to the referendum put Remain slightly ahead. Remain were anticipated to win until early results from North East England suggested that Leave had performed far better than expected, with this pattern replicated throughout the country. This event was repeated somewhat in the U.S. election of that year, which saw Donald Trump win several key swing states such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, despite predictions that these states would vote for Hillary Clinton.

The Federal Reserve's balance sheet has undergone significant changes since 2007, reflecting its response to major economic crises. From a modest *** trillion U.S. dollars at the end of 2007, it ballooned to approximately **** trillion U.S. dollars by May 2025. This dramatic expansion, particularly during the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic - both of which resulted in negative annual GDP growth in the U.S. - showcases the Fed's crucial role in stabilizing the economy through expansionary monetary policies. Impact on inflation and interest rates The Fed's expansionary measures, while aimed at stimulating economic growth, have had notable effects on inflation and interest rates. Following the quantitative easing in 2020, inflation in the United States reached * percent in 2022, the highest since 1991. However, by *************, inflation had declined to *** percent. Concurrently, the Federal Reserve implemented a series of interest rate hikes, with the rate peaking at **** percent in ***********, before the first rate cut since ************** occurred in **************. Financial implications for the Federal Reserve The expansion of the Fed's balance sheet and subsequent interest rate hikes have had significant financial implications. In 2023, the Fed reported a negative net income of ***** billion U.S. dollars, a stark contrast to the ***** billion U.S. dollars profit in 2022. This unprecedented shift was primarily due to rapidly rising interest rates, which caused the Fed's interest expenses to soar to over *** billion U.S. dollars in 2023. Despite this, the Fed's net interest income on securities acquired through open market operations reached a record high of ****** billion U.S. dollars in the same year.