The majority of Americans still trust Republicans and President Donald Trump’s ability to handle the economy over Democrats, according to a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll released on Monday.
More than half of voters — 55% — said that they trust the GOP and the Trump administration to be able to “manage” the U.S. economy, according to the newly released poll. The other 45% of respondents said they had more faith in congressional Democrats’ ability to handle the economy, the survey says.
However, 57% of voters said Trump is losing the battle against inflation, according to the poll. Moreover, 56% said the president’s tariff policies are harming the U.S. economy, the survey shows.
The survey also found that 59% of voters think inflation or the cost of living are the economic issues that matter the most to them.
According to the poll, voters were split 50-50 when asked whether the present economy was better or worse than under the administration of former President Joe Biden. Fifty-two percent of respondents said the economy’s “current state” was chiefly due to Trump’s policies while the other 48% said it was predominantly the result of Biden’s.
“Of course Americans trust President Trump and Republicans on the economy over Democrats – just compare the economic disaster that Democrats inflicted during the Biden presidency with the economic boom President Trump delivered during his first term,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement.
Additionally, 62% of respondents said that Republicans won the government shutdown fight this year, compared with 38% who said the same about Democrats, according to the poll. Of those surveyed, 68% said they approved of the deal that ended the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown in November.
Still, some polls released in recent months have indicated that many Americans feel pessimistic about Trump’s approach to the U.S. economy. Voters’ confidence in the economy dropped to a 17-month low in November, according to a survey from Gallup released Thursday.
Moreover, some American business owners have reportedly highlighted concerns that Trump’s tariffs could potentially force businesses to raise consumer costs in the new year.
Trump claimed on Dec. 2 that the word “affordability” is a “Democrat scam,” also suggesting he does not believe that Democrats want to improve the U.S. economy. The president’s comments came just days after he referred to himself as the “affordability president” in a Nov. 29 social media post.
While on the campaign trail in 2024, Trump pledged to “make America affordable again” if he won reelection. Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters wrote in a Nov. 20 post to X that “the economy is booming” under Trump’s leadership.
Additionally, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent projected in September that there would be “substantial acceleration” in the economy by the end of this year.
The Harvard CAPS/Harris poll survey was conducted online from Dec. 2-4, among 2,204 registered U.S. voters by The Harris Poll and HarrisX.
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