Trump approval drops amid economy, Iran war concerns

# Americans Are Frustrated With the Economy — and the Polls Show Why Political Promises Aren't Working

A new CBS News/YouGov poll has delivered a finding that should alarm every incumbent politician regardless of party: Americans are deeply pessimistic about the economy, and their frustration is directed not just at current leadership but at the entire system's ability to deliver material improvement in their lives. Trump's approval rating has dropped to 37% — a number that reflects not just disagreement with specific policies but a broader sense that the economic contract between government and citizens is broken.

## The Poll Numbers in Context

The 37% approval figure is significant not because it's low — presidents routinely see approval ratings in the 30s during economic downturns — but because of who is expressing disapproval. The frustration is not limited to Democratic-leaning voters or traditional opponents. Republican-leaning independents and working-class voters who formed the core of Trump's coalition are increasingly expressing economic anxiety. When your own base is telling pollsters the economy isn't working for them, the problem isn't messaging. It's material reality.

The poll found that concerns about the cost of living, housing affordability, and the economic impact of foreign conflicts — particularly the Iran war — are the primary drivers of dissatisfaction. These are not culture war issues that can be redirected through partisan framing. They are kitchen-table problems that people experience directly every time they go to the grocery store, pay rent, or look at their retirement account.

## Why the Economy Feels Worse Than the Numbers Suggest

The disconnect between official economic statistics and lived experience has been widening for years, and it's now reaching a breaking point. GDP growth, unemployment rates, and stock market indices all tell a story of an economy that is, by traditional measures, performing adequately. The unemployment rate remains below 4.5%. Corporate earnings are strong. The S&P 500 is near all-time highs.

But these aggregate numbers mask the lived reality for most Americans. Real wages for the bottom 60% of earners have been essentially flat for three years when adjusted for the cost of housing, healthcare, and food — the three categories that consume the largest share of household budgets. The inflation rate may have moderated from its 2022 peak, but prices haven't come down. The cumulative effect of five years of above-target inflation is that the same basket of goods and services costs roughly 25% more than it did in 2020, while incomes for most workers have risen perhaps 12-15%.

Housing presents an even starker picture. The median home price in the United States now exceeds $420,000, and with mortgage rates above 6.5%, the monthly payment on a typical home purchase is roughly double what it was five years ago. For a generation of renters, the path to homeownership — historically the primary mechanism for building wealth in America — has effectively been closed. Rent isn't much better: the national average rent has increased 30% since 2020, far outpacing wage growth.

## The Iran War Is Making Everything Worse

The economic impact of the ongoing Iran conflict is compounding existing frustrations in ways that politicians seem reluctant to acknowledge directly. Oil prices remain elevated, adding to transportation and manufacturing costs that get passed through to consumer prices. Military spending is accelerating, contributing to deficit concerns that push Treasury yields higher and mortgage rates with them. And the uncertainty generated by an open-ended foreign conflict freezes both consumer spending and business investment — exactly the dynamism the economy needs.

The poll found that a significant share of Americans now see the Iran war as a direct cause of their economic anxiety. This is a dangerous feedback loop: economic frustration fuels political disapproval, which makes it harder for leaders to build consensus around either economic policy or foreign policy, which deepens the frustration further.

## What Both Parties Are Getting Wrong

The Republican response to economic anxiety has been to argue that deregulation, tax cuts, and energy independence will restore growth. The Democratic response has been to call for more government spending, stronger unions, and corporate accountability. Neither response addresses the core problem: the structural transformation of the American economy away from broad-based prosperity toward concentration of wealth and opportunity in a shrinking number of geographic and professional enclaves.

The areas where the economy is genuinely strong — major coastal cities, tech hubs, financial centers — are precisely the areas that are least affordable for ordinary workers. The areas that are affordable are precisely the areas where economic opportunity is most limited. This geographic sorting is not a natural market outcome. It is the product of decades of policy choices in housing, transportation, education, and taxation that have systematically advantaged some places and people over others.

## What This Means For You

The political implications of this poll are clear: incumbents of both parties face a hostile electorate in 2026 and 2028. But the personal financial implications are more important. If you're feeling economic anxiety, the data says you're not irrational — you're responding to real conditions. The best personal strategy in an environment where macro solutions are stalled is to focus on what you can control: reduce fixed costs where possible, avoid taking on debt that depends on optimistic income assumptions, and invest in skills that are genuinely scarce in your local labor market rather than skills that are only valuable in the coastal economies you can't afford to live in. The economy isn't working for most people right now, and no election outcome is likely to change that quickly. Your best bet is to build resilience at the household level while the macro picture sorts itself out.