CNN Poll: A growing majority says Trump has made the economy worse, with most skeptical of his tariff plans

A 59% majority of the public now says President Donald Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions in the country, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, up from 51% in March and on par with the worst numbers Joe Biden saw during his presidency.

Americans remain broadly unhappy with the nation’s economy, the survey finds, and there’s little enthusiasm for the White House’s sweeping new trade policies. With the impact of new tariffs still largely to come, 6 in 10 already say that Trump’s policies have increased the cost of living in their community, with just 12% saying his agenda has helped to bring prices down.

Overall, 69% of the public considers an economic recession in the next year to be at least somewhat likely, including 32% who say that’s very likely. Just 34% of Americans call themselves enthusiastic or optimistic about the economy, with 29% saying they’re pessimistic and 37% that they’re afraid. Seven in 10 of those younger than age 45 express pessimism or fear, as do 76% of Americans of color.

The widespread unhappiness with Trump’s economic stewardship marks a new chapter for a president who saw mostly positive ratings for his handling of the economy during his first term. Trump, who pledged during the 2024 campaign to ” immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One,” won handily among voters last year who said they were primarily motivated by economic concerns, according to CNN’s exit poll

“Everything I worked for all my life is rapidly [disappearing],” one Republican man surveyed, a 59-year-old from Georgia who worried about nearing retirement amid volatility in the stock market, wrote in response to the poll. “It will probably take years to recover what I have lost due to what’s going on.”

Still, Republican views of economic conditions overall have risen over the past month, and most in the GOP say they expect the tariffs to have positive long-term effects on the nation’s economy.

Wariness of tariffs

A 55% majority of Americans say that Trump’s actions on tariffs so far this term have been bad policy, with 28% calling them good policy, and 17% saying they’ve been neither. Views of the tariffs imposed specifically on Chinese goods are slightly less negative, with 53% calling them bad policy, and 32% saying that they have been good.

The survey was conducted from April 17 to 24, after the White House first announced expansive new tariffs on dozens of countries, and then called a pause on many of them. A flurry of back-and-forth statements continued during the survey’s fielding on the state of international trade negotiations and the ultimate end goal of the tariffs. Americans say, 58%, to 42%, that they don’t believe Trump has a clear strategy when it comes to announcing and implementing tariffs.

Most expect his tariff policies to have negative effects on the US economy in the short term (72%), America’s standing in the world (60%) and their own personal finances (59%), with fewer than 3 in 10 expecting the tariffs to help on any of these fronts.

A smaller majority, 53%, expect the tariffs to hurt in the long term, with 34% saying they’ll end up helping. That reflects some faith among wary Republicans that the tariffs will pay off in the long run: While Republicans say, 47% to 27%, that the tariffs will hurt the economy in the immediate future, roughly three-quarters think they’ll help down the line.

“I’m not an economics guy, but I can kind of see with what he’s doing with tariffs,” John Metcalf, a Michigan Democrat who was surveyed, told CNN in an interview. “It’s just causing confusion. If you are a business owner and you’re thinking about the future, how in the world can you make decisions when he flips back and forth every other day?”

Views of economy remain gloomy

Overall, 28% of Americans describe economic conditions as good, while 71% call them poor – numbers that have remained almost unchanged in CNN’s polling since fall 2023. Just under half of Americans, 47%, say they’re satisfied with their personal finances, also little changed over the past few years.

Below that consistency, partisans are shifting in opposite directions. The share of Republicans calling the economy good has climbed 10 points since March, while the share of Democrats saying the same has dipped further. Republicans are more then 10 times likelier than Democrats to express enthusiasm or optimism about the economy.

Yet there are signs in the poll that the president faces some looming discontent even among his own party. While 94% of Republicans say they have confidence in Trump to handle the economy, a smaller 63% of say that his policies have improved economic conditions, and just 23% credit him with bringing down the costs of living in their community. Nearly as many Republicans expect Trump’s tariff policies to hurt their own finances as believe that they’ll help, 28% to 33%.

“The prices for energy, medical services, higher education, repair and maintenance continue to [rise],” one New Jersey Republican wrote, adding, “I think that Pres. Trump’s program will help once they are given a chance.”

Asked to name the biggest economic problem facing their family, a majority point to expenses and high prices, including 28% who mention inflation, 15% the cost of living in general, and 16% food prices, all relatively unabated from the share who mentioned the same issues in June 2024. But some new concerns have risen as well: 9% mention tariffs, 7% say they’re worried about the stock market or their investments, 4% mention Trump and his policies, and 4% cite general economic uncertainty, all of which polled negligibly last summer.

“My wife lost her job due to the Trump administration DOGE cuts,” wrote another survey respondent, a Democrat from Pennsylvania. “We are suddenly down an income with costs rising all around us. My own job is at risk due to NIH grant cuts. Our retirement accounts are plummeting in value. Everything is just so, so much worse than it was before Trump took office.”

Among those currently working at least part time, 50% say they expect Trump’s tariff policies to hurt their industry, and 11% say they will help.

“I make board games and they can’t be made in the US,” a man from Massachusetts wrote. “I have preorders I need to fulfill but can’t afford to with the tariffs. The profit I would have gotten from sales would have allowed my business to grow into a studio, hire people, etc. Now I will lose money.”

While the Trump administration has argued that tariffs will help create new manufacturing jobs in the US, Americans say, 73% to 26%, that they’d personally prefer a job doing office work over one with the same pay doing manufacturing. A modestly higher share of men – 37% — say they’d prefer a manufacturing job, rising to 43% among men who align with the GOP.

The CNN poll was conducted among 1,678 adults nationwide by SSRS from April 17-24, using a combination of online and telephone interviews. The survey samples were originally drawn from two sources – a probability-based online panel and a registration-based sample – and combined. Respondents were initially contacted by mail, phone or email. Results for the full sample have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.9 points.

CNN’s Jennifer Agiesta, Edward Wu and Emily R. Condon contributed to this report.