Donald Trump’s Approval Rating on Inflation Plummets Across Three Polls – Newsweek
Published
Jun 03, 2026 at 12:56 PM EDT
Senior US News Reporter
President Donald Trump‘s approval rating on inflation has plummeted across three separate polls, signaling potential trouble on one of the issues that helped fuel his return to the White House.
New polling from Marquette Law School, The Harris Poll and HarrisX and The Economist/YouGov shows the president’s net approval rating on this issue stands at -56, -30 and -48 respectively.
Inflation remains one of the most closely watched political issues in the country. The economy was the top concern for voters heading into the 2024 election, according to Gallup, so sustained weakness on prices could present a political challenge for Trump and the Republicans as the 2026 midterms approach.
Although the president is not on the ticket, the elections are seen as a way for voters to cast their judgment on his term in office, making public sentiment on inflation especially significant.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Newsweek: “The ultimate poll was November 5th 2024 when nearly 80 million Americans overwhelmingly elected President Trump to deliver on his popular and commonsense agenda.
“No other President in history has accomplished more for the American people than President Trump, who is working tirelessly to create jobs, cool inflation, increase housing affordability, and more.
“The President has already made historic progress not only in America but around the world,” Ingle added, “and this is just the beginning as his agenda continues taking effect.”
The most-negative result came from The Economist/YouGov poll, which found that 24 percent of people approved of Trump’s handling of inflation while 72 percent disapproved.
The poll surveyed 1,604 U.S. adults between May 29 and June 1, 2026.
Marquette Law School’s poll produced a similar result, with 78 percent disapproving and 22 percent approving of Trump’s handling of inflation.
This poll of 1,001 adults was conducted between May 20 and May 26, 2026, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
Finally, the Harris Poll and HarrisX survey found 35 percent approval and 65 percent disapproval.
The polling comes amid renewed pressure on household budgets. Gas prices have risen during the conflict involving Iran, while grocery costs remain elevated, even though inflation has slowed from its earlier highs.
The Department of Labor’s most-recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed that prices rose 0.6 percent in April, pushing annual inflation from 3.3 percent to 3.8 percent—the fastest pace recorded during either of Trump’s terms in office.
The same polls also showed Trump’s overall negative approval rating.
The Economist/YouGov polling had the president’s net approval rating at -26 percentage points, while the Marquette Law School survey gave him a -24 point rating.
Trump’s best score came in the Harris Poll and HarrisX survey, though he still posted a negative net rating of -10.
Other recent polling has shown similar trends.
An I&I/TIPP poll conducted in late May found 37 percent approved of Trump’s performance, compared with 54 percent who disapproved.
The poll was taken May 26 to 28 among 1,589 adults and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.
A CNN poll released on May 12 found that Trump’s overall disapproval rating hit 66 percent—its highest level across his two nonconsecutive terms in the White House.
The poll was conducted from May 11 to May 15, 2026, among 1,507 registered voters using live telephone interviews in English and Spanish, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
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