Trump's ghost of Christmas present: Lingering economic pain
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President Trump addresses the nation from the White House on Dec. 17. Photo: Doug Mills - Pool/Getty Images
As the calendar year comes to a close, the Trump administration is projecting a dazzling economy in 2026 — but a recent round of polls shows Americans' economic vibes are sagging.
Why it matters: The White House faces growing pressure to address affordability as it heads into a critical midterm. The president is betting that his "big, beautiful" law will boost the economy while pinning any lingering pain on his predecessor.
Case in point: In a new CBS News/YouGov poll, 61% of U.S. adults say President Trump makes prices and inflation sound better than they really are.
- Trump's approval rating on the economy sat at 37%, just one point higher than a month earlier, in the poll of 2,300 adults.
- Respondents were more than twice as likely to say Trump's policies, not former President Biden's, are responsible for the economy.
Reality check: The Consumer Price Index signaled easing inflation in November.
- From September to November, the index for food prices ticked up slightly, by 0.1% — which Axios' Courtenay Brown reports also depicts a notable cooling in grocery price pressures.
- As food prices climbed, the administration rolled back tariffs last month on key grocery items, like coffee, beef and tropical fruit in a retreat from its signature trade policy.
Zoom out: The skepticism isn't just in polls. The Financial Times reported that Apollo CEO Marc Rowan — a onetime contender for Trump's Treasury job — has told investors the firm is cutting risk and piling up cash for "when something bad happens."
What they're saying: "They've got empty rhetoric. We've got rhetoric with substance," National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said on "Fox News Sunday."
- He predicted Americans will "see it in their wallets. They're going to see it in their bills."
- Hassett pledged "huge tax refunds" for seniors and certain workers and "a big plan" on housing to come.
Yes, but: More respondents in the CBS poll expected Trump's policies will leave them financially worse off (45%) than better off (27%) in 2026.
- An NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll survey released last week found that 33% of residents think their finances will improve in 2026, while 29% predict their finances to get worse.
- That's down from from June when 48% of Americans thought their personal finances would improve in the coming year.
Catch up quick: Still, Trump says he gives his economy top marks. Voters are grading on a harsher curve.
- In fact, just 5% gave the economy an "A" in the CBS poll. Twenty percent rated it a "B." Twenty-six percent gave it a "C," while 25% gave it a "D" and 24% graded it an "F."
- Emerson College Polling's last national survey of 2025 found that about 22% give Trump an "A" on the economy — but 36% give him an "F."
- More than six in 10 Americans said the economy is not working well for them in an NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll survey, up from 57% in May of this year.
State of play: Democrats this year recognized that economic pain, centering their message around affordability (a word the president has since dismissed as a "con job").
- Heading into the midterms, Democratic leaders want to make 2026 a referendum on affordability.
- It comes as House Democrats, with a group of Republican centrists, secured the support to force a vote on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits.
- The extension proposal is dead on arrival in the Senate, but it opens the door to possible bipartisan talks — with the cost of living at their core.
Zoom in: "As Democrats, we're promising to focus relentlessly on driving down the high cost of living, to make life more affordable for everyday Americans, and to fix our broken health care system," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Sunday on ABC's "This Week."
Go deeper: Trump's approval rating on the economy hits record low 31%
