Trump has never been this underwater on how Americans view his performance on the economy as tariffs raise stagflation fears

According to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS, 56% of respondents disapprove of his handling of the economy, while 44% approve. That negative margin of 12 points is his worst ever in CNN‘s polling.

“We’ve never seen him that far underwater and upside down in terms of approval and disapproval on this issue in his entire presidential career,” David Chalian, CNN‘s Washington Bureau chief and political director, said on Wednesday.

His approval ratings on the economy were consistently in positive territory during his first term and during the 2024 campaign. At the end of October, a CNN poll found 50% trusted Trump more on the economy versus just 37% for then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

But Trump’s trade war and aggressive stance on tariffs are weighing him down. CNN‘s poll shows 61% disapprove of his performance on tariffs while 39% approve. His overall job-approval score is also negative, with 54% disapproving and 45% approving.

Since he returned to the office, he has imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China, aluminum, and steel, while threatening duties on the European Union, chips, autos, and pharmaceuticals, while reciprocal tariffs are due in a few weeks. The on-again, off-again process has also stoked uncertainty that has added to worries as well.

The White House defended Trump’s economic plans and pointed to his record during his first term.

“Since President Trump was elected, industry leaders have responded to President Trump’s America First economic agenda of tariffs, deregulation, and the unleashing of American energy with trillions in investment commitments that will create thousands of new jobs,” spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. “President Trump delivered historic job, wage, and investment growth in his first term, and is set to do so again in his second term.”

Consumer and business sentiment readings are tanking as tariffs also spike exceptions of future inflation. That latest University of Michigan consumer confidence survey for March tumbled from a month earlier, with the one-year inflation outlook hitting 4.9%, the highest reading since November 2022.

Meanwhile, economists and Wall Street analysts are lifting odds that the economy will slip into a recession. That’s raised the possibility of “stagflation,” a vexing combination of high prices and weak growth that forces the Federal Reserve to fight one or the other, but not both.

In the last bout of stagflation during the 1970s and early 1980s, the central bank spiked interest rates to snuff out inflation, sacrificing the economy in the process. With the current Fed still smarting from its infamous dismissal of high post-pandemic inflation as “transitory,” analysts have said it will lean toward ensuring prices don’t reaccelerate—unless the economy and payrolls crash.

That has sent markets into a tailspin with the S&P 500 on Thursday joining the Nasdaq in a correction, though stocks rebounded on Friday. But Trump isn’t budging on his trade policies, saying Thursday that “I’m not going to bend at all” as he and other administration officials down play the market selloff.

He also told executives at the Business Roundtable this week that the higher tariffs go, the more likely companies will relocate production in the US.

After largely seeing Trump’s tariffs as a negotiating tool rather than a goal, Wall Street is now taking him at his word.

“With the administration shrugging off concerns about the potential for a recession or further falls in equity prices, the key risk now is that even our tariff assumptions—which until recently seemed somewhat hawking—could still be far too timid,” Capital Economics said in a note on Friday.