As the Iran war spills over into everyday life, more Americans say they are worse off today than at most any point in the last 25 years.More than half – 55% – say their financial situation is deteriorating, according to a new Gallup poll. While that figure is similar to the slumping sentiment Gallup registered last year, the ranks of the disaffected have grown. Only 47% of Americans were bummed about the economy in 2024.
This poll also marks the fifth straight year that Americans complained things are getting worse, not better. The only time the national mood plunged this low was during the Great Recession.Financial worries are coming to the fore amid the Iran war and ahead of the November midterm elections, putting pressure on President Donald Trump and Republicans.
Since the start of the year, Trump has asked Congress to pass legislation that would cap credit card interest rates at 10% and directed the Department of Justice to investigate meatpackers in a bid to bring down beef prices.
Trump often says he inherited from former President Joe Biden an economy in tatters, that under his guiding hand, is "roaring like never before." But the American public has been skeptical.A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that Trump’s approval rating has slipped to the lowest level of his second term with just 34% of Americans seeing the president as a good steward of the economy and the nation.
