U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, in the Oval Office, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 5, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
During the United States' 2024 presidential race, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris warned that if Donald Trump won the election and followed through on the steep tariffs he was proposing, Americans could look forward to much higher prices. Yet it was Trump who, according to polls, had the advantage on inflation, hammering Harris and then-President Joe Biden relentlessly on that issue. And it was enough of an advantage for Trump to narrowly win the popular vote by roughly 1.5 percent.
Many polls cited the economy as a top reason why a small majority of voters favored Trump over Harris in the end. But now, eight months into his second presidency, Associated Press (AP) polling is showing that what was once Trump's greatest advantage — the economy — is now a major weakness.
Associated Press (AP) reporter Linley Sanders, in an article published on September 24, explains, "Once strengthened by economic issues, Trump's approval is now relatively low on the economy — and he's leaning on his stronger issues of crime, border security and immigration. Concerns about the economy and immigration helped propel him to the White House, but polling over the past year shows that Americans' faith in the Republican president's handling of the economy is low — particularly among independents — and his approval on immigration has fallen slightly."
Sanders continues, "Now, Trump's strongest issues are border security and crime, but there were signs of potential weakness on crime in the most recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research."
According to AP/NORC, only 37 percent of Americans approve of Trump's handling of the economy. And Trump fares slightly worse on his handling of health care, with 35 percent approval.
However, Trump enjoys 55 percent approval on border security, according to AP/NORC found that. And his overall approval, AP/NORC finds, is 39 percent.