Half of voters say they're worse off financially, poll finds
National News
Audio By Carbonatix
1:15 PM on Thursday, July 30
Brett Rowland
(The Center Square) – About 49% of voters say they're worse off financially than a year ago, and 62% disapprove of President Donald Trump's handling of the economy, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.
About 32% of voters approve of the way Trump is handling his job overall, the lowest mark of his presidency in Quinnipiac's polling, in the survey of 963 registered voters conducted this week.
More than seven in 10 voters, 71%, described the economy as "not so good" or "poor," and 59% said it's getting worse, compared with 19% who said it's improving.
Voters overwhelmingly see inflation as a problem: 88% called it very or somewhat serious.
Consumer prices rose 3.5% over the year ending in June, federal data show, down from a 4.2% annual pace a month earlier but still rising.
Everyday staples rose over the year ending in June. Gasoline climbed about 27%, ground coffee 16%, ground beef 12%, milk 7% and electricity 4%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics average-price data.
More than half of voters, 54%, blamed Trump "a lot" for the recent rise in gas prices, and another 19% blamed him "some."
Crude oil, priced on global markets, is the largest component of pump prices, about half the retail cost, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The national average hit $4.10 a gallon this week, according to AAA.
Voters rendered a similar verdict on the war with Iran. Two-thirds, 66%, said it has not been worth fighting when weighing the costs against the benefits, and 60% said they oppose the U.S. military action.
A slim majority, 54%, said the United States is not winning the war, while 36% said it is.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 21 that the Pentagon's own estimate of the conflict's cost is $37.5 billion. The administration is seeking roughly $67 billion in a supplemental request to reimburse war costs and boost military capacity.
Trump's approval also slipped among Republicans, to 76% from 85% in late June, a 9-point drop in about five weeks.
Most voters, 68%, said Trump is not focused enough on the problems most Americans face, while 29% said he is.
The poll surveyed 963 registered voters nationwide from July 23-27, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
