Americans want Trump to do more for economy, inflation, say polls

By María Paula Mijares Torres

 

Two polls signaled that President Donald Trump risks putting off Americans worried about the economy and inflation with the broad flurry of measures during his first weeks in office.

 

While about 80 per cent of adults surveyed said Trump should home in on the economy and inflation, they said they believed his top priorities were the US-Mexico border, his effort to slim the federal workforce and tariffs, according to a CBS News/YouGov poll published Sunday. Only 29 per cent said Trump was prioritizing inflation “a lot” and 36 per cent said the same about the economy.

 

 

A Feb. 24-28 poll for CNN found 40 per cent saying Trump has the right priorities, compared with 45 per cent in its Feb. 13-17 survey. Trump’s latest approval rating of 48 per cent was little changed from mid-February. 

 

The findings broadly align with a Bloomberg News/Harris poll in early February that showed almost 60 per cent of US adults expect Trump’s tariffs on imported goods to lead to higher prices, with even many Republicans wary of his trade agenda.

 

Asked about the CBS poll, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CBS’s Face the Nation that Trump has been in office for only five weeks and “we are working to get these prices down” as the administration’s policies kick in.

 

About two-thirds in the CBS poll give Trump credit for reducing migrant crossings at the US-Mexican border, and views of his handling of the economy are narrowly positive. “That all leaves Mr. Trump’s approval rating in positive territory, but more closely divided than a couple of weeks ago,” according to CBS. 

 

The Feb. 26-28 CBS/YouGov poll of 2,311 adults has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. The poll conducted for CNN by SSRS sampled 2,212 adults for a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.