CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten found on Friday that a significant number of Americans no longer view the economy as their number one political issue.
Americans’ viewing the economy as the top problem in the U.S. fell from 43% in October 2024 to its current 24%, indicating that most voters’ concerns about inflation and high prices have eased since President Donald Trump took office. The current figure is substantially lower than the average of 35% of voters who prioritize the economy during a midterm election cycle.
“Look at this, 43 percent at this time, 43 percent of Americans said the top problem was economic,” Enten said. “Come to this side of the screen, it’s just considerably different. We’re talking about 24 percent. We’re talking about a drop of near 20 points and more than that, we’re talking about across all of the different political groups, right. Democrats, independents, Republicans. We see that the percentage who say the top problem is economic has been falling, has been falling, has been falling through the floor.”
“And more than that, you know, we’re talking about inflation, the percentage of Americans who say that the top problem is inflation has also been falling which is I think very much surprising given all the news that we are hearing about the economy,” Enten continued.
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Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, Congressional Democrats have been using the economy to attack Trump, particularly stating that Americans cannot afford the prices of his tariffs. They have also claimed that inflation is rising during Trump’s administration.
Inflation fell to a four-year low in April as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) dropped to 2.3% year-over-year. The prices of gas and eggs have significantly decreased after facing record-high costs, while the costs of groceries and energy have continued to climb.
Less than half of Americans, 48%, believe that the government shutdown is having an effect on the economy, Enten said while citing CNBC and NBC News.
“[The] harm the shutdown is having on the economy, a great deal or quite a bit. Back in 2013, the last time we had this measure during a shutdown, it was 65%. You come over to this side of the screen, again, it’s significantly lower. It’s 48%. It’s less than a majority. So what we’re talking about here is again, fewer Americans are saying the top problem is economic compared to last year and historically and what we’re seeing is fewer Americans are saying that the shutdown is causing a great deal or quite a bit of harm to the economy,” Enten said.
All except three Democrats voted to shut the government down on Oct. 1 to retaliate against the continuing resolution (CR) not including an extension of Biden-era subsidies in the Affordable Care Act. The party has since been accusing Republicans of attacking the American people’s healthcare, although they had voted for the same CR in the past.
During the 2024 election, the economy and immigration were the top issues for voters, which ultimately led to Trump defeating former Vice President Kamala Harris. During former President Joe Biden’s administration, inflation soared from 1.4% to a record of 9% between January 2021 and June 2022.
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