What do polls say about Trump’s approval on inflation and gas prices?

The household-cost answers help explain why those issue ratings matter. In the Marquette survey, 80% said gasoline prices had risen over the preceding six months, including 55% who said they had risen a lot. Grocery costs drew a similar response: 81% said they had risen, including 51% who said they had risen a lot.

Those are respondents’ perceptions, not official measurements of how much prices changed. They show how widely respondents reported rising prices alongside low ratings for Trump’s handling of those costs.

Marquette also found that 64% thought Trump’s policies were increasing inflation; 18% thought they were decreasing it, and 18% thought they had no effect. Those answers measure respondents’ views of the policies’ effect on inflation, not their actual impact on prices.

What the ratings can—and cannot—show

Marquette recorded 40% overall approval in July and 37% in September. Approval of Trump’s handling of inflation and the cost of living was 24% in July and 19% in September. The survey’s stated margin of error for its September adult sample was plus or minus 3.3 percentage points. The results show how answers differed across the two surveys, not what caused the differences.

A separate NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, conducted Sept. 14–15 among 1,280 registered voters, found 39% approved of Trump’s job performance and 59% disapproved. Its stated margin of error was plus or minus 3.8 percentage points. Marquette surveyed adults; Marist surveyed registered voters. Their results are separate snapshots, not interchangeable readings of one precise approval number.

Marist also found that 34% said their family finances had worsened over the past year, while 20% said they had improved. That adds another measure of economic dissatisfaction, though it cannot tell us how much any one expense contributed to a respondent’s view of Trump.

The evidence available to assess Trump’s dismissal is limited: Two surveys report low approval, and Marquette records widespread reports that gasoline and grocery prices had risen. The available CBS report does not establish which survey, if any, Trump was challenging or provide a specific methodological criticism to assess.

The risk for Republicans

Marist found Democrats ahead of Republicans when voters were asked which party would better handle the economy, 42% to 34%. Democrats also led on gas prices, 40% to 27%. These are answers about party preference on particular issues, not forecasts of election results.

The numbers give Republicans reason to take household costs seriously. They do not show that inflation or gas prices alone determined Trump’s ratings, or that voters will choose candidates solely on those issues in November. What is clear is more immediate: Many respondents said essential purchases cost more, and few approved of how Trump was handling those costs.