Republicans Less Trusted on Economy Than Democrats For First Time in Years

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Sophie Grace Clark is a Live News reporter based in London, with a focus on crime stories. She has also covered politics and entertainment extensively. Sophie joined Newsweek in 2024 from a freelance career and had previously worked at The Mail on Sunday, The Daily Star, OK Magazine, and MyLondon. She is a graduate of Middlebury College. You can get in touch with Sophie by emailing sg.clark@newsweek.com. Languages: English.

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Republicans are trusted less than Democrats with the economy, according to a new poll.

This is the first time since May, 2021, that the GOP has been seen as less trustworthy than Democrats with the nation's finances, according to the April 11-13 survey by Morning Consult, among 2,203 registered U.S. voters across the country.

Why It Matters

One of President Donald Trump's campaign promises was to revive the U.S. economy, but less than 100 days into his Presidency global markets are in turmoil, and tariffs are increasing the price of goods.

The President has rescinded reciprocal tariffs above 10 percent on most countries, but has raised tariffs on China to 145 percent, and has given mixed signals on whether he will also put tariffs on semiconductors despite initially saying he would not put tariffs on Chinese electronics.

What To Know

Six days after Trump entered office, Republicans in Congress held an 11 point lead over Democrats when it came to which party voters trusted over the economy, according to Morning Consult polling.

Now, 46 percent of Americans believe Congressional Democrats are better on the economy, compared to 43 percent who believe Republicans are better, and 11 percent have no opinion.

The last time the Democrats had the upper hand in this way was under President Joe Biden in May 2021.

The fall is likely due to the implementation of tariffs which are raising the price of goods, and the Republican budget which will increase the national deficit to $4.5 trillion by 2035 while cutting funding for Medicaid and food stamps.

Poll respondents also told Morning Consult they trust Congressional Republicans over Democrats when it comes to national debt. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points.

Morning Consult found that 45 percent of poll respondents approve of Trump's handling of the economy, and 48 percent of respondents disapprove.

Overall, Trump's approval rating is currently sitting at -10 points, having fallen from +3 points on January 26, 6 days after his inauguration, says the pollster.

Morning Consult also found that voters do not believe Trump is fulfilling what they believe should be priorities for him. For example, 71 percent of poll respondents said Trump should prioritize lowering costs, but only 46 percent of poll respondents believe he is actually prioritizing that change.

Similarly, 67 percent of people want the president to prioritize health care affordability, but only 43 percent of people believe that he is.

What People Are Saying

Congressman Rand Paul in the National Review: "Our Founders would be appalled at a tax levied without a vote of their representatives … Tariffs raise the prices of goods and services. Even those who obstinately deny that basic fact will soon realize that the tariffs are a tax on the American people, whether while paying for groceries or looking at their investment portfolio."

Senator Patty Murray on X: "Trump inherited a historically strong economy and he is single-handedly destroying it—and Republicans are letting him. We have got to speak out."

Stephen King on X: "By most metrics, the U.S. economy was the strongest in the world when Mr. Trump took office in January, leading some analysts to describe the president's actions as a historic self-inflicted wound akin to a soccer player's scoring a goal against his own team."

What Happens Next

Despite the urgings of Democratic members of Congress and Rand Paul, the President has not sought Congressional approval for his tariffs. President Trump has changed his policies on tariffs several times since entering office, and does not appear to be fully settled on the future of his monetary policy, which is creating even more volatile markets.