Trump's Economic Ratings Hit Lows in Fox Poll Amid Gas Price Surge

President Donald Trump's approval ratings on the economy have collapsed to levels unseen in modern polling, according to a new Fox News survey that shows voters turning sharply against him and his party on their signature issue. The poll, released this week, finds just 34 percent of registered voters approving of Trump's handling of the economy while 66 percent disapprove. On inflation, the numbers are even more dire, with 28 percent approval and 72 percent disapproval. For the first time in 16 years, a Fox News poll shows Democrats holding a lead on the economy, with 52 percent of voters saying they would trust Democrats more compared to 48 percent for Republicans.

The findings mark a striking reversal from Trump's 2024 campaign, when economic discontent helped propel him back to the White House. They also represent the worst net approval rating on the economy for any president in decades. Data analyst Harry Enten noted that no modern president has posted a net negative rating of 32 points on the economy, surpassing previous lows set by Joe Biden and George W. Bush. The drop has been particularly pronounced among independents, who gave Trump a net positive rating as recently as January 2025 but now register a net negative of 55 points.

These numbers arrive alongside other warning signs for the administration. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted this week found that 77 percent of registered voters blame Trump at least in part for the recent surge in gasoline prices, which have climbed to about $4 per gallon. The increase stems directly from the U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran that Trump authorized earlier this year, an operation that has disrupted roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies. Even 55 percent of Republicans and 82 percent of independents assign Trump some responsibility. Fifty-eight percent of voters, including one in five Republicans, said they would be less likely to support midterm candidates who back Trump's approach to the conflict.

The economic pain appears to be accelerating a broader erosion of support among key demographics that backed Trump in 2024. A March poll by Third Way and UnidosUS found Trump's favorability underwater overall at 44 percent to 55 percent unfavorable. Among Latino voters, however, the gap is far wider: just 34 percent favorable to 66 percent unfavorable. On the economy, Latinos disapprove by a 66-33 margin, and on immigration the disapproval stands at 67-32. Congressional ballot tests show Democrats leading Republicans by 30 points among Latinos, a dramatic swing from Trump's performance last year. The 22-point Democratic advantage with Latino men in particular suggests a return to long-standing voting patterns that Trump had temporarily disrupted.

Inside the White House, the polling has contributed to visible strain. Multiple reports indicate Trump is in a foul temper, with top advisers describing him as being in a "bad mood" that has led to a wave of staff departures and planned purges. Republican senators told Politico that Trumpworld is bracing for more high-level firings as the president looks to assign blame for the slide. Meanwhile, his lieutenants are scrambling to develop a coherent midterm strategy, an acknowledgment that the political landscape has shifted rapidly since inauguration.

G. Elliott Morris, who writes the Strength in Numbers Substack and recently released his own national poll, has argued for months that Trump's underlying position was weaker than conventional commentary suggested. In conversation with The New Republic's Greg Sargent, Morris pointed to the Fox data as confirmation that economic reality is overtaking the administration's messaging. Biden's worst net approval on the economy was minus 32 in the same Fox survey format; Trump has now matched or exceeded that level of unpopularity far earlier in his term. The fact that Democrats have pulled ahead on the economy for the first time in over a decade, Morris noted, represents a milestone that could reshape the 2026 battlefield.

The confluence of issues points to structural problems for Republicans. Trump's decision to launch military action against Iran, which he framed as decisive leadership, has instead produced tangible costs at the gas pump that voters are attributing to him personally. That feedback loop appears to be undoing gains the GOP made with working-class and Latino voters, groups that polls showed were receptive to Trump's economic populism during the campaign. Now those same voters are registering some of the sharpest disapproval.

Political strategists on the right are beginning to voice concern. Sarah Chamberlain of the Republican Main Street Partnership told Reuters that the current environment is "bad" and that voters are "upset." The party's narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress, secured in 2024, suddenly look precarious. If the Fox and Reuters numbers hold through the summer and fall, Republicans could face an environment reminiscent of past midterm waves, only this time with their own president as the focal point of discontent.

Democrats, for their part, have yet to fully capitalize on the shift. The Fox poll still shows a closely divided electorate, and structural advantages such as gerrymandering and the map for Senate seats provide Republicans some buffer. Yet the data suggests the political terrain is moving beneath Trump's feet faster than his team anticipated. What began as a victory lap on economic nationalism has run into the hard limits of governance: wars that disrupt energy markets, inflation that lingers in household budgets, and a public that appears increasingly willing to judge the administration by results rather than rhetoric.

The coming months will test whether Trump can stabilize his position or whether the early cracks in his coalition widen into something more lasting. For now, the polls paint a picture of a presidency already on the defensive, with voters signaling that promises made on the campaign trail are colliding with the consequences of decisions made in office.