Most Americans think Trump is not focused enough on economy – poll

Two-thirds of Americans believe Donald Trump is prioritizing his controversial immigration crackdown at the expense of their economic wellbeing, according to a new poll, in a stark warning for the US president about the unpopularity of his agenda.

Amid growing discontent about the economic costs of his decision to go to war with Iran, 68% of respondents said Trump’s administration is too focused on mass deportations and not enough on affordability issues.

The poll, from Morris Predictive Insights, illustrates the strength of the political backlash facing Trump following criticism of his admission that financial pressures on Americans from the Iran war “not even a little bit” driving him to reach a peace deal with Iran’s Islamic regime.

With millions of Americans set to hit the road over Memorial Day weekend, US fuel prices are still at their highest levels in years. The nationwide average stood at $4.55 per gallon on Friday, according to AAA, up $1.35 per gallon from where they stood a year ago.

As Trump struggles to shrug off mounting concerns over affordability, he is due to swear in Kevin Warsh as the new chair of the Federal Reserve.

Warsh is replacing Jerome Powell, who Trump has vehemently attacked for his refusal to cut interest rates. Powell has repeatedly warned over inflationary risks, and broader economic uncertainty, since Trump’s return to office.

Warsh will confront a darkening economic outlook, with inflation hitting a three-year high of 3.8% in April.

Evidence that the Morris survey was no outlier was provided by a separate poll from Gallup, which showed confidence in the economy at a four-year low.

Nearly half of all respondents, 49%, rated the current state of the economy as poor, against another 34% who ranked it as only fair. Just 16% of Americans rated current economic conditions as excellent or good. A mere one in five said conditions were improving.

But it was the Morris survey that most graphically illustrated Trump’s political problem, showing that dissatisfaction lay across the ideological spectrum and on policy areas that were key to his 2024 election win.

Even among Trump voters, 36% believe his administration has the wrong priorities, according to the survey. The figure was 70% among voters who said they had abandoned their previous support for Trump. And among loyal Trump voters, more than one-quarter, 27%, believe the president is on the wrong track.

On his one-time signature issues – the economy and immigration – disapproval ratings now sit at -35% and -13%, respectively.

The polls also showed a majority of voters, 53%, favor redirecting spending away from immigration enforcement towards either reducing food and grocery costs, or lowering health costs and supporting programs such as Medicaid.

A similar figure believe mass deportation of immigrant workers is damaging the economy by raising costs for US families. Some 56% say it is tearing families apart and driving up costs for everyone, as against 34% who say it is making the country safer.

There are also solid majorities criticizing immigration enforcement as “going too far” when it results in higher grocery bills after farm and food workers are deported, immigrant children disappear from school classrooms, elderly people and families are left without care workers, and restaurants are forced to close because workers have been expelled from the country.

In a warning sign for Republicans in the congressional midterm elections, the poll shows 16% of Trump’s 2024 voters no longer planning to vote for the party in November. The primary reason is the faltering economy and rising living costs, cited by 51% of the cohort. Another 36% said they were put off by the president’s personal conduct and rhetoric, while 24% blamed immigration enforcement and deportations.