Grocery and gas costs worry nearly half of adults as Trump’s economic approval hits 26%

Those figures describe worry, not missed payments or a measured increase in anyone’s spending. The survey does not show how prices or incomes changed for the households answering it. It does identify the essential bills at the center of the broader debate over economic leadership.

Trump’s economy approval stood at 40% in March 2025, compared with 26% in September 2026; 73% disapproved in the latest poll. On cost of living, 69% said his handling had been worse than they expected. AP reported that Trump had campaigned on lowering prices and criticized Joe Biden and Kamala Harris over inflation. That promise gives the approval numbers political context, even as the poll cannot establish what shaped each respondent’s view.

Blame is not a price analysis

The poll asked adults to choose whether higher-than-usual prices were more due to Trump’s policies or to factors outside his control. Sixty-five percent chose his policies; 33% chose outside factors. That records whom respondents hold more responsible, but the question cannot determine the contribution of tariffs, the Iran war or any other possible cause to prices.

Nor do the topline numbers show that each person who blamed Trump also disapproved of his economic performance. The findings point in the same political direction, but they do not establish a relationship between individuals’ answers to the two questions. The survey of 2,140 adults had an overall margin of sampling error of 2.9 percentage points.

The strongest counter-reading comes from Trump’s own party. According to AP-NORC’s account of the findings, 67% of Republicans attributed higher prices more to factors outside his control. The poll does not test whether they are right about the causes. Yet even among Republicans, 52% said Trump’s handling of the cost of living had been worse than expected. Giving a president less blame for prices is not the same as being satisfied with his response.

An opening for Democrats, not a blank check

A related AP report published Saturday found that 38% of registered voters thought Democrats would be better at handling the cost of living, compared with 27% who chose Republicans. AP also reported that few voters thought either party could solve important problems. The party preference is an opportunity for Democrats, not proof that voters trust them to deliver lower costs.

For Trump, the political challenge is clear: most adults in the poll attributed higher-than-usual prices more to his policies, while his economic approval reached a new low. Answering the affordability concerns recorded in the same survey is a different task. Determining what drove the cost of essentials—and what would make them more affordable—requires evidence about prices, policy effects and household finances that opinions alone cannot supply.