Poll: Most Americans have the summer blues about Trump and the economy

Audio will be available later today.

As concern over gas prices remains high, President Trump's approval ratings continue falling to record lows, especially over his handling of the economy, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll.

Only a third of Americans say they approve of how Trump is handling the economy — three points lower than the worst marks given to former President Joe Biden during his term.

Just 36% say they approve of Trump's overall job performance, while 59% say they disapprove, which is the widest gap Trump has faced during either term in office.

In a midterm election year where Democrats show more enthusiasm to vote and see a path to regain control of both the House and Senate, notably 22% of Republicans say they disapprove of Trump's handling of the economy. The share of Republicans who say they strongly approve of Trump's job performance dropped to 53% in June from 61% in April.

Regina Kulenga, a 36-year-old Trump voter in Georgia, told NPR that she wasn't sure if she would vote in the midterm elections, and called Trump's actions since returning to office a "slap in the face."

"The economy is suffering a lot right now, and I just feel like a lot of the things that he did promise, you know, we're still waiting," she said. "Honestly, I was a big Trump supporter in the beginning… and I'm like, someone needs to do something about it because he's not doing anything right now for the economy but making things, I feel, in my opinion, a lot worse than what they were."

While Kulenga drives an electric car and does not have to worry about high gas prices, she said family members are struggling with rising costs for transportation and groceries.

More than three quarters of Americans continue to say gas prices are a strain on their budgets, even as average gas prices have fallen about 40 cents a gallon from a month ago, according to AAA. The survey was taken before the latest announcement of an agreement between the U.S. and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Those concerns have a real world impact: 45% of Americans say they don't plan on taking a summer vacation this year, with about half of those people citing cost as the main reason.

The survey of 1,340 respondents was conducted June 8-11 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.0 percentage points, meaning results could be about 3 points higher or lower. Respondents were reached by live caller, text and online.

Trump — and his economy — continue to be unpopular

The erosion in Trump's support continues to cut across multiple demographic groups that were key to his victory in 2024.

• Among independent voters, 64% continue to disapprove or strongly disapprove of Trump's performance, the same as April's survey, along with 94% of Democrats and 18% of Republicans.
• Approval among Gen Z (25%), Gen X (36%) and those with a household income below $50,000 a year (34%) continued to decline from the last poll.
• In February 2025, Trump had a net positive approval rating of 22 points among rural Americans but he is now 10 points underwater.
• By a roughly two-to-one margin, Latinos disapprove of Trump's performance.

When specifically asked about the economy, only one-third of white Americans without a college degree say they approve of Trump's handling, down from nearly half in April 2025.

Still, the vast majority of Republicans are sticking by Trump, like 68-year-old Greg Votel, a retired law enforcement officer in Minnesota who said the president "can only do so much when you have a Congress that's fighting him tooth and nail to preserve the Democratic Party" and told NPR that it will take more time for Trump's plans to come to fruition.

"It doesn't happen overnight," he said. "It's going to take some time, it's going to probably take at least two administrations. Trump's got the ball rolling."

There are many economic factors working against Republicans this year, including high inflation, the ongoing war in Iran, higher gas prices and Trump administration policies around tariffs, among others.

The Americans surveyed express concerns about the way those policies are impacting household decisions. When asked if they planned to take a vacation this summer, a similar share of respondents said yes (55%) to the last time the question was asked in 2025 and 2021. This year, cost was listed as a top factor against planning a trip, with those with a household income under $50,000, Gen X and those outside large cities and suburbs more likely to choose that reason.

Vacation or not, two thirds of adults say cost has had some or a great deal of impact on their summer plans, including 53% of Republicans and 49% of those over 60.