Damning New Poll Finds Voters Worse Off Under Trump
With the midterms around the corner, the results threaten a disaster for Republicans.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
New polling shows more than half of voters think they are worse off now than when Joe Biden was president.
President Donald Trump has been battling unpopularity in the polls over his war in Iran and the rising cost of living, and this latest poll, conducted for the Financial Times, found that 53 percent of registered voters felt worse off financially today than they did on Jan. 19, 2025.
Trump, 80, took office on Jan. 20, 2025.
Fifty seven percent of independents, and nearly a quarter of self-identified Republicans, also felt worse off under the current president, the polling by Focaldata found. The poll was conducted among 1,913 registered voters between Aug. 7 and Aug. 10.
In a significant blow to longstanding Republican myth making, the poll found voters were more likely to say they trusted Democrats over Republicans to handle inflation and the cost of living.
Democrats also had an edge on handling jobs and the economy—issues that have long been claimed as strengths for the GOP.
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Sixty-four percent of voters felt the economy was going in the wrong direction.
The poll is the latest in a long line of bad polls for Trump, 80, and the Republican party as they attempt to hold onto their majorities in the House and Senate in November.
Trump himself has exacerbated matters by often seeming out of touch with the cost of living concerns of his constituents.

Financial Times poll.
Financial Times
Asked about inflation in the Oval Office earlier this year, he said he loved it. And he told a gaggle of reporters that he didn’t think about the record highs gas prices were heading for because of the war in Iran.
The president continues to spend his leisure time golfing and entertaining wealthy friends and donors at his various properties, while crusading for a massive ballroom to be added to the White House.
There was not one metric—from AI to immigration—measured in the poll where a majority of voters approved of Trump’s handling of an issue.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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