Across the United States, frustration with the cost of living has hardened into something closer to anger. After years of rising prices for rent, groceries, gas and debt payments, roughly half the country now says their financial security has deteriorated on President Donald Trump’s watch and that daily life has become harder to afford. The headline sentiment is blunt, but it reflects a consistent pattern in recent polling and economic research that shows Americans feeling squeezed even when headline indicators suggest the economy is growing.
What emerges from the latest surveys is a split-screen reality. On one side are strong corporate profits, a resilient stock market and low official unemployment. On the other are households juggling skipped meals, rising credit card balances and a pervasive sense that Trump’s policies have not delivered for ordinary workers. I see that gap, between macro strength and micro strain, as the defining story of the current economic moment.
Public opinion turns on Trump’s economic record
President Donald Trump still talks about the economy as his signature strength, but voters are increasingly unconvinced. Recent national polling shows Americans giving President Donald Trump his weakest marks yet on economic stewardship, with economic concerns now driving broader disapproval of his leadership. In one survey, respondents described being more worried about inflation, job security and interest rates than at any point in his second term, a sign that the political advantage he once enjoyed on pocketbook issues has eroded as household budgets come under pressure, according to Americans’ dissatisfaction.
The shift is visible in Trump’s personal economic approval numbers. A recent Poll found his rating on the economy sliding to a new low of 36%, a striking figure for an incumbent president who still points to GDP growth and job creation as proof that his approach is working. That Poll, highlighted by NPR, ties the drop to growing anxiety that the labor market is slowing and that wage gains are not keeping up with the cost of essentials. When barely more than a third of the country approves of a president’s handling of the economy, it is a clear signal that the lived experience of prices and paychecks is outweighing any optimism generated by topline statistics.
Half the country feels less financially secure
Behind those approval ratings is a more basic judgment: many people feel worse off. A recent report from LONDON described how Nearly half of Americans now say their financial security has worsened in the past year, a stark assessment that cuts across age and region. The same account, citing Dec polling, notes that Americans are increasingly worried about slower-than-expected economic growth and the possibility that their incomes will not keep pace with future price increases, a trend captured in the finding that Nearly half of Americans see their financial security deteriorating.
That sense of slippage is not just about abstract fears. It shows up in concrete tradeoffs, from delaying medical care to stretching car loan terms on a 2018 Honda Civic or a 2020 Ford F-150 just to keep monthly payments manageable. When people tell pollsters that their financial security has worsened, they are often describing a cascade of small losses: a thinner savings cushion, a higher minimum payment on a credit card, a rent hike that eats the raise they finally received. In that context, it is not surprising that many of those same respondents connect their worsening situation to Trump’s economic policies, which they see as favoring corporations and high earners over the households now reporting that life has become harder to afford.
“Hidden costs” of Trump’s economy hit home
Those personal stories are echoed in more detailed research into how families are coping. A comprehensive analysis of household finances found that more than 6 in 10 Americans believe the Trump administration has negatively affected their cost of living, with many reporting that they have had to skip meals, take on new debt or make what the study calls “impossible choices” just to get through the month. The report describes Americans juggling rent, groceries and medical bills, and concludes that the current policy mix has left them more vulnerable to shocks, a pattern captured in its finding that more than 6 in 10 Americans see Trump’s approach as driving up their everyday costs.
That same research, released in Jul, emphasizes that the pain is not limited to the poorest households. Middle income families, including those with combined earnings above 60,000 dollars, report cutting back on fresh food, postponing dental work and leaning on buy-now-pay-later apps like Affirm and Klarna to cover basics. The authors argue that these “hidden costs” of Trump’s economy, from rising overdraft fees to higher interest on auto loans, rarely show up in headline inflation numbers but weigh heavily on people’s sense that life has become more expensive. When I look at those findings, the throughline is clear: even in a period of overall growth, the structure of that growth matters, and many Americans feel that the benefits have bypassed them while the bills have not.
Survey data shows most see little personal benefit
Pollsters have tried to quantify that disconnect between macro performance and personal gain. In Jul, The Century Foundation highlighted a survey of exactly 2,007 voters that asked people directly whether Donald Tru’s economic policies had helped them. The topline finding was blunt: a majority blamed Donald Tru for making their cost of living worse, and large shares said they felt stressed about their finances each day. The survey methodology, which reached voters across income brackets and regions, reinforces the idea that dissatisfaction is not confined to one partisan corner but reflects a broad sense that the current trajectory is unsustainable for household budgets.
Another Jul poll underscored the same point from a different angle. It found that Only one in four U.S. adults said Trump’s policies had helped them, while Roughly half reported that Trump’s agenda had “done nothing” for their finances and a significant share said it had actively hurt them. The researchers noted that Most respondents, including some who had voted for Trump three times, did not see a positive impact from his policies, a pattern captured in the finding that Most adults say Trump’s policies have not helped. When only a quarter of adults feel they have personally benefited from a president’s economic program, it becomes easier to understand why half the country now says life has grown harder under his watch.
Pessimism cuts across party lines
One of the more striking developments this year is how economic pessimism has spilled beyond the usual partisan boundaries. Nine months into the second Trump administration, a national survey found that More than half, specifically 53%, of Americans believed the economy was getting worse, not better. The pollsters noted that this gloom was not limited to Democrats or independents; a meaningful share of Republicans also described feeling anxious about their financial future, suggesting that loyalty to Trump is no longer enough to override the daily reality of higher prices and tighter budgets.
That cross-party pessimism matters because it shapes how people interpret every new data point, from a modest uptick in wages to a dip in gas prices. When Americans start from the assumption that the economy is headed in the wrong direction, they are more likely to see any setback, such as a layoff at a local warehouse or a spike in mortgage rates, as confirmation that the system is stacked against them. The survey that captured Nine months of Trump’s second term framed this mood as a kind of ambient unease, with Americans describing themselves as “pretty crummy” about the economy even when they still had jobs. In that environment, arguments about GDP growth or stock market highs do little to change minds, because the lived experience of paying the bills under Trump is what counts.
Cost of living dominates Americans’ worries
As 2025 draws to a close, cost of living has emerged as the central economic concern for Americans, eclipsing even worries about unemployment. In a recent national poll, respondents were asked to rank their top financial anxieties heading into 2026, and the rising price of essentials like housing, food and healthcare topped the list by a wide margin. The survey described how Americans, after several years of elevated inflation, now see high prices as a persistent feature of life rather than a temporary spike, a pattern that a CBS News poll of Americans said looks poised to dominate the political conversation in 2026 as well.
That focus on everyday costs helps explain why so many people say life has become harder during Trump’s presidency even if they have not lost a job. A family that spends 150 dollars more each month on groceries than it did three years ago, pays higher rent for the same two bedroom apartment, and faces steeper premiums for a mid tier health plan on an app like HealthCare.gov will feel squeezed even if their wages have inched up. When those families tell pollsters that Trump has made their cost of living worse, they are responding to the cumulative effect of these increases, not to any single policy. The political risk for Trump is that once voters internalize the idea that he is associated with higher prices, it becomes difficult to dislodge that perception, especially when new bills arrive every month.
A “complicated” economy masks uneven gains
Supporters of the president often point to strong headline numbers as evidence that criticism of his economic record is unfair. It is true that the US stock market has remained resilient, and that After a year of volatility tied to Trump’s back and forth tariff announcements, major indices have recovered much of their lost ground. Some measures of consumer spending also remain solid, suggesting that parts of the economy are still humming. Yet a closer look shows that these gains are unevenly distributed, with higher income households and investors capturing most of the upside, a pattern highlighted in reporting that describes a complicated picture under Trump.
For families earning less than 50,000 dollars a year, the story looks very different. Surveys cited in that same analysis show that households below that income threshold are far more likely to report financial strain, difficulty covering unexpected expenses and a sense that they are falling behind. When Trump touts stock market highs, those families may hear it as a reminder that the benefits of his policies are flowing to people with retirement portfolios and brokerage accounts, not to workers trying to keep a 2015 Toyota Corolla on the road or pay for community college tuition. The result is an economy that can look strong on paper while still leaving half the country convinced that their own situation has deteriorated.
Debt, skipped meals and daily tradeoffs
One of the most sobering threads running through the recent research is the normalization of hardship. In detailed interviews, Americans describe skipping meals so their children can eat, relying on high interest credit cards to cover rent, and postponing necessary medical procedures because of cost. The “hidden costs” report on Trump’s economy notes that many families now cycle between overdraft fees, payday loans and buy-now-pay-later plans just to bridge the gap between paychecks, a pattern that leaves them more indebted and less secure over time. When more than 6 in 10 Americans say Trump has worsened their cost of living, they are often thinking about these daily tradeoffs, not abstract debates in Washington.
Debt has become both a coping mechanism and a trap. Households that once used credit cards for occasional emergencies now lean on them for recurring expenses like groceries and utilities, with balances creeping higher each month. Auto loans stretch to seven or even eight years, locking people into long term payments on vehicles like a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado or a 2019 Subaru Outback that may need repairs before they are paid off. These patterns are not unique to the Trump era, but the combination of elevated prices and policy choices that favor creditors over debtors has intensified the strain. When I talk to economists about why half the country feels worse off, they often point to this quiet accumulation of financial risk as a key reason.
Why the perception gap matters for 2026
The clash between official statistics and public sentiment is not just an academic puzzle; it has real political consequences. If half of Americans believe their financial security has worsened and only a minority credits Trump’s policies with helping them, that shapes how they will approach the 2026 midterms and any future national race. Voters who feel that life has become harder are more likely to be open to alternative economic visions, whether from within Trump’s own party or from his opponents, especially if those alternatives speak directly to rent, medical bills and debt rather than to aggregate growth.
At the same time, the perception gap complicates policymaking. If the White House leans too heavily on positive indicators, it risks sounding out of touch to Americans who are skipping meals or juggling multiple jobs. Yet if it pivots abruptly to acknowledge the pain, it implicitly concedes that the current approach has fallen short. As Americans head into 2026 with cost of living still at the top of their worries, the central question is not whether the economy is technically in good shape, but whether people feel that the gains of the Trump era are finally reaching their own wallets. Right now, the polling suggests that for roughly half the country, the answer is still no.
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Grant Mercer covers market dynamics, business trends, and the economic forces driving growth across industries. His analysis connects macro movements with real-world implications for investors, entrepreneurs, and professionals. Through his work at The Daily Overview, Grant helps readers understand how markets function and where opportunities may emerge.
