February 24, 2025

A total of 43% of Americans say they approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president and 51% say they disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job according to the latest survey from the American Research Group.

In February 2017, after Trump's first month as president, 43% approved of the way Trump was handling his job as president and 51% disapproved.

When it comes to Trump's handling of the economy, 38% of Americans approve and 56% disapprove.

In February 2017, 43% approved of the way Trump was handling the economy and 50% disapproved.

Unprompted, voters disapproving of Trump's handling of the economy complain that Trump has not reduced grocery, gasoline, and/or energy prices as he promised during the campaign.

Among Americans registered to vote, 43% approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president and 51% disapprove. On Trump's handling of the economy, 38% of registered voters approve and 57% disapprove.

Of the 43% of Americans saying they approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president, 39% say they expect the national economy will be better a year from now.

Of the 51% saying they disapprove of the way Trump his handling his job as president, 67% say they expect the national economy will be worse a year from now. 

Of the 43% of Americans saying they approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president, 43% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be better a year from now, 39% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be the same a year from now, and 11% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be worse a year from now.

Of the 51% saying they disapprove of the way Trump his handling his job as president, 23% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be better a year from now, 44% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be the same a year from now, and 22% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be worse a year from now.

In February 2021, 58% of Americans approved of the way Joe Biden was handling his job as president and 34% disapproved. On Biden's handling of the economy, 61% of Americans approved and 33% disapproved. Among Americans registered to vote in February 2021, 59% approved of the way Biden was handling his job as president and 34% disapproved. On Biden's handling of the economy in February 2021, 61% of registered voters approved and 33% disapproved.

In February 2009, 60% of Americans approved of the way Barack Obama was handling his job and 33% disapproved. Among registered voters in February 2009, 57% approved of the way Obama was handling his job and 37% disapproved. In February 2009, 55% of Americans approved of the way Obama was handling the economy and 39% disapproved. Among registered voters in February 2009, 52% approved of the way Obama was handling the economy and 41% disapproved.

The results presented here are based on 1,100 completed interviews conducted among a nationwide random sample of adults February 17 through 20, 2025. The theoretical margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.

Overall, 43% of Americans say that they approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president, 51% disapprove, and 6% are undecided.

Among Republicans (32% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 29% of all adults in the survey), 89% approve of the way Trump is handling his job and 6% disapprove. Among Democrats (32% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 29% of all adults in the survey), 4% approve and 92% disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job. Among independents (36% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 33% of all adults in the survey), 38% approve and 55% disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job as president.

Overall, 38% of Americans say that they approve of the way Donald Trump is handling the economy, 56% disapprove, and 6% are undecided. Among registered voters, 38% approve and 57% disapprove of the way Trump is handling the economy.

Among Republicans, 79% approve of the way Trump is handling the economy and 14% disapprove. Among Democrats, 3% approve of the way Trump is handling the economy and 94% disapprove. Among independents, 34% approve and 61% disapprove of the way Trump is handling the economy.

A total of 20% of Americans say that the national economy is getting better, 26% say it is staying the same, and 50% say the national economy is getting worse.

Among those saying they approve of the way Trump is handling his job, 39% say getting better, 30% say staying the same, and 28% say getting worse. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job, less than 5% say getting better, 24% say staying the same, and 67% say getting worse.

A total of 34% of Americans say they believe the national economy will be better a year from now, 19% say it will be the same, and 36% say it will be worse.

Among those saying they approve of the way Trump is handling his job, 46% say better, 11% say the same as today, 30% say worse than today, and 13% are undecided. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job as president, 25% say better, 24% say the same, and 41% say worse.

Overall, 46% of Americans say they believe that the national economy is in a recession, 35% say they do not believe the economy is in a recession, and 19% are undecided.

Among those saying they approve of the way Trump is handling his job, 29% say the national economy is in a recession, 49% say the national economy is not in a recession, and 22% are undecided. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job, 61% say the national economy is in a recession, 23% say the national economy is not in a recession, and 16% are undecided.

A total of 30% of Americans rate the national economy as excellent, very good, or good and 66% rate it as bad, very bad, or terrible.

Among those saying they approve of the way Trump is handling his job, 42% say very good, or good and 56% say bad, very bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job, 20% say very good, or good and 76% say bad, very bad, or terrible.

When it comes to rating their household financial situations, 65% of Americans give an excellent, very good, or good rating and 29% give a bad, very bad, or terrible rating.

Among those saying they approve of the way Trump is handling his job, 67% say excellent, very good, or good and 27% say bad, very bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job, 54% say very good, or good and 40% say bad, very bad, or terrible.

A total of 8% of Americans say they think the financial situations in their households are getting better, 51% say staying the same, and 30% say getting worse.

Among those saying they approve of the way Trump is handling his job, 13% say getting better, 58% say staying the same, and 19% say getting worse. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job, 3% say getting better, 46% say staying the same, and 39% say getting worse.

Looking to a year from now, 32% of Americans say that they think their household financial situations will be better than today, 41% say the same as today, and 18% say worse than today.

Among those saying they approve of the way Trump is handling his job, 43% say better than today, 39% say the same as today, and 11% say worse than today. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job, 23% say better than today, 44% say the same as today, and 22% say worse than today.

About this Survey -

Survey Sponsor: American Research Group, Inc.

The American Research Group has been conducting national surveys of consumers since 1985.

Sample Size: 1,100 completed interviews among a random sample of all adults age 18 and older living in households in the continental United States (see methodology for details). There were 321 Republicans, 320 Democrats, 363 independents, and 96 non-voters in the sample.

Sample Dates: February 17-20, 2025

Margin of Error: ± 3 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.

Question Wording and Order:

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president?

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling the economy?

How do you rate the condition of the national economy these days - would you say it is excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad, or terrible?

Do you think the national economy is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?

Would you say that the national economy is in a recession, or not?

A year from now, do you expect the national economy to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today?

How do you rate the condition of the financial situation in your household - would you say it is excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad, or terrible?

Do you think the financial situation in your household is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?

A year from now, do you expect the financial situation in your household to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today?