Republicans and Republican-leaning independents were more likely than Democrats to rate the economy positively in July 2026, but Republican assessments had weakened since January. Separate polls also show that many Republicans expected economic improvement before 2026 and, later, blamed high prices more on factors outside President Donald Trump’s control than on his policies. Those findings measure different things—current conditions, expectations and responsibility for prices—and should not be treated as interchangeable.
How Republicans rated the economy in July 2026
In Pew Research Center’s survey of 3,554 U.S. adults conducted July 6–12, 2026, 41% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents rated the economy excellent or good. That was down from 49% in January. By comparison, 10% of Democrats and Democratic leaners gave the economy a positive rating in July. These figures describe respondents’ assessments of current conditions, not an objective measure of economic performance. Pew Research Center, July 23, 2026
Republicans’ views of Trump’s economic policies softened
In the same Pew survey series, 42% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said Trump’s economic policies had improved conditions in July 2026, down from 57% in January. The share saying the policies had worsened conditions rose from 18% to 28%. Another 29% said the policies had not had much effect in July.
These are perceptions of policy effects, not estimates of how much presidential policies caused economic changes. The survey does not make the three responses equivalent to overall approval of Trump or to respondents’ ratings of the economy itself. Pew Research Center, July 23, 2026
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Many Republicans expected improvement before 2026
A December 2025 AP-NORC survey measured expectations for the coming year, not judgments about how the economy later performed. About half of Republicans expected the national economy to be better in 2026 than in 2025, compared with 6% of Democrats. The result captures a pre-year outlook and cannot be compared directly with Pew’s July 2026 ratings of current conditions. AP-NORC, December 2025
Who Republicans blamed for high prices
In a separate AP-NORC poll reported by The Associated Press in October 2026, 67% of Republicans said factors outside Trump’s control were more to blame for high prices than his policies. At the same time, about half of Republicans said his handling of living costs was worse than they had expected, and roughly six in ten disapproved of his handling of the cost of living.
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Those findings can coexist: a respondent can assign responsibility for high prices to forces outside a president’s control while still disapproving of how he handles living costs. The AP figures come from a different poll and a later point in the year than Pew’s July findings. The Associated Press, October 2026
Economic policy mattered politically, but party agreement was nearly even
Pew’s July 2026 midterm survey found that U.S. adults were almost evenly divided when asked which party’s economic policies they agreed with more: 37% chose the Democratic Party and 36% the Republican Party. This is an all-adult result, not a finding about Republicans alone. It measures agreement with party policies; it does not ask which party respondents think would manage the economy better. Pew Research Center, July 23, 2026
What the polling says—and what it does not
- Current economic ratings: Pew found Republicans more positive than Democrats in July 2026, but Republicans’ positive ratings were lower than in January.
- Policy perceptions: Fewer Republicans said Trump’s policies improved conditions in July than in January; these responses are not causal estimates.
- Expectations: The AP-NORC figure about expecting a better economy concerned the outlook for 2026, asked in December 2025.
- Price attribution: The AP-NORC result about factors outside Trump’s control concerned responsibility for high prices in a separate poll reported in October 2026.
- Party-policy agreement: Pew’s nearly even split was among U.S. adults overall and asked which party’s policies they agreed with more.
Together, the polls show a partisan gap in economic assessments alongside declining Republican confidence in the economy and in Trump’s perceived policy effects over the first half of 2026. They do not establish a single, all-purpose measure of Republican economic sentiment: the answers vary with the question asked and the date the poll was conducted.
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