Hardware FixRecommendedDevice not working? Your driver may be the problemCheck updates for common hardware issues.Fix DriversOctober DealsAmazon USOctober deal check: compare before you payAmazon US: current deals, useful picks and tech finds.Check DealsClean PCRecommendedOne scan can reveal what keeps slowing WindowsLook for cleanup and repair opportunities.Run Scan×
Skip to content
The Finance Base
The Money Desk · Blog
Re:

Trump Polling Numbers: Economy Ratings Sink, Immigration Holds Up, Court Views Explained

Recent polls show weak ratings for Trump on the economy and cost of living, but a more mixed picture on immigration. Public concern about the Supreme Court is not proof of a specific act of defiance.
From TheFinanceBase Team4 min to read
Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Trump’s economy and cost-of-living ratings are weak in recent polls, but the evidence does not show a comparable collapse in immigration approval. A separate Marquette survey found many respondents think the Supreme Court is avoiding a ruling Trump might refuse to obey; that perception does not establish that he defied a particular court order. The polls measure different populations and questions, so their results should be read separately.

What recent polls say about Trump and the economy

AP-NORC: low approval on the economy and cost of living

An October 2026 poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 26% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s handling of the economy and 17% approved of his handling of the cost of living. The Associated Press reported that the economy figure was a new low in that series. In the same poll, 65% said Trump’s policies, rather than factors outside his control, were responsible for persistently high costs. That last figure measures respondents’ attribution; it is not an independent estimate of how much any policy caused prices to rise.

The Associated Press reported the findings on October 1, 2026. The figures describe U.S. adults’ responses to particular questions, not a forecast of election results or a direct measure of economic performance.

Marquette: prices rate worse than immigration

Marquette Law School’s national survey, conducted September 2–9, 2026, found 37% overall job approval for Trump. On issue approval, 28% approved of his handling of the economy, 20% of gas prices, and 19% of inflation and cost of living. The corresponding figures were 43% for immigration and 49% for border security.

What’s actually slowing this PC down?

Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Within Marquette’s own polling series, overall job approval declined from 48% in the January 27–February 6, 2025 survey to 37% in September 2026. Approval of Trump’s handling of the economy fell from 43% in July 2025 to 28% in September 2026. These are changes within Marquette’s series; they should not be combined with AP-NORC’s results as if the polls used the same sample and questions.

Is Trump’s immigration approval plunging too?

The available measures do not support describing immigration approval as falling in lockstep with economic approval. Marquette’s September issue-approval result for immigration was 43%, higher than its ratings for the economy and prices. That does not mean every voter supports the administration’s approach, or that immigration is politically settled; it means this survey found a different pattern across issues.

Rural voters report mixed local effects

An AP-KFF survey of more than 2,000 rural voters in August 2026 asked about immigration enforcement’s impact on their communities. Roughly a third viewed the impact as positive, about a third as negative, and three in ten said it had no impact. This is a measure of perceived local effects among rural voters, not national approval of Trump’s immigration policy.

Party comparisons depend on the question

Pew Research Center’s July 6–12, 2026 survey asked which party respondents trusted more to handle policy areas. On economic policy, Democrats had 37% and Republicans 36%, effectively a tie. On immigration policy, Republicans led 41% to Democrats’ 36%. These are party-competence judgments from a July survey, not Trump job- or issue-approval ratings.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

What the polls say about the Supreme Court—and what they do not

In its September 2026 survey, Marquette found that 54% of respondents thought the Supreme Court was going out of its way to avoid a ruling Trump might refuse to obey. This reports what respondents believe about the Court’s behavior. It is not a court finding, a legal conclusion, or evidence that Trump actually disobeyed a particular ruling.

The phrase “defying court” does not identify one specific case. Recent Associated Press coverage has included distinct matters: on October 1, 2026, the Supreme Court agreed to review the administration’s mandatory-detention policy; on September 29, it temporarily allowed quick third-country deportations to resume while considering the policy; and a May 2026 report described lower-court judges finding administration violations of court orders in multiple individual lawsuits. Those reports concern different proceedings and do not, by themselves, establish which event a broad headline means. A claim about defiance should name the order, the court, and the conduct at issue.

Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

Why economic ratings can diverge from economic indicators

Polling about the economy captures people’s judgments, which can reflect everyday costs as well as broader economic conditions. A CBS News poll, as reported by Axios in 2026, found that 91% of respondents said “prices” when asked what they think about when rating the economy. Axios also described a gap between relatively favorable macroeconomic indicators and poor voter perceptions.

National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett described the political difficulty of that gap in remarks reported by Axios after a CNN appearance: “If I say ‘oh, people are wrong, the economy is great,’ then it looks like I’m insensitive. And if I then go into why the economy is great, then it looks like I’m insensitive,” The statement captures an administration official’s view of the communications challenge; it does not resolve why individual respondents gave their answers.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 4
SaleBestseller No. 5
First Book of Practical Studies for Cornet and Trumpet
First Book of Practical Studies for Cornet and Trumpet
Designed To Develop Chord Consciousness And Additional Experience; Covers Fundamental Rhythms, Key Signatures And Articulations
$7.99
Best Value
Sale
First Book of Practical Studies for Cornet and Trumpet
  • Designed To Develop Chord Consciousness And Additional Experience
  • Covers Fundamental Rhythms, Key Signatures And Articulations
  • Includes Interesting And Melodic Studies
  • Use For Supplement Or Beginning Method Book
  • Standard Notation

How to read the numbers without mixing them up

  • Approval is not party trust. Marquette and AP-NORC asked about Trump’s performance; Pew compared confidence in the parties’ handling of policy.
  • National and rural samples answer different questions. AP-KFF measured rural voters’ perceptions of local enforcement effects, not national immigration approval.
  • A respondent’s explanation is not a causal estimate. The AP-NORC finding on responsibility for high costs records attribution, not a calculation of policy’s effect on prices.
  • A poll about anticipated noncompliance is not proof of noncompliance. Marquette’s Supreme Court result records public perception, not an adjudicated event.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

More post from the Money Desk

  1. The Money DeskBlogTheFinanceBase09 OCT 267 minMortgage Escrow FAQs: Taxes, Insurance, Shortages, and Refunds
  2. The Money DeskBlogTheFinanceBase09 OCT 265 minHow Mortgage Escrow Accounts Work and What Homeowners Pay For
  3. The Money DeskBlogTheFinanceBase09 OCT 265 minHow to Read a Stock Chart, Volume and Market-Cap Data
Recommended PC Tool
Recommended PC Tool
PC Slower Than It Used to Be?Free scan - under a minute
Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?Free driver scan

Two free Windows tools

One Free Minute Could Fix That PC

Before you go - each of these free tools takes about a minute and tackles what quietly slows a Windows PC down.

Special offer. View Outbyte info, uninstall instructions, EULA, and Privacy Policy.