Americans have a negative economic outlook, even as many feel their personal economic situation hasn’t changed

Washington DC, April 27, 2025—New ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos polling finds most Americans describe the state of the economy negatively and say prices are going up. Though, many feel their personal economic situation hasn’t changed. Approaching the 100 day mark of his second Trump administration, President Donald Trump’s approval has fallen over the past two months. Americans are split on actions the Trump administration has taken since inauguration. More Americans trust Trump to handle the country’s main problems over Congressional Democrats. Yet, since taking office, most believe Trump has exceeded his authority as president. To read more about more about immigration and tariffs from this poll, follow this link. Follow ABC News for more on this poll.

Detailed findings:

1. Most Americans describe the state of the economy negatively. Most say prices are going up, though nearly half feel their personal financial situation is unchanged from January 2025.

• One in four (26%) Americans would describe the nation’s economy as positive, while three in four (73%) would say it is negative, unchanged from February 2022.
• Most (62%) say that prices are going up for the things they want or need to buy, while 27% say prices are about the same, and 11% report that prices are falling.
• Compared to when Trump became president in January, about one in ten (10%) say they are better off financially now. Two in five (41%) say they are not as well off. Yet, more (48%) say they are financially doing the same.
• Even as half of Americans feel that their personal situation hasn’t changed since January, a majority (72%) say it is likely that Trump’s economic policies will cause an economic recession in the short term, with 26% saying a recession is not likely.

2. Compared to February 2025, Trump’s approval is down.

• Since February 2025, President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen. Thirty-nine percent of Americans approve of Trump’s performance as president, down from 45% two months ago. This puts the president in line with his approval rating in January 2021 (38%), when he was leaving his first term.
• On these key issues, Trump performs best on immigration (46% approve), followed by managing the federal government (42%), looking out for the interests of average Americans (41%), the economy (39%), U.S. relations with other countries (38%), tariffs on imported goods (34%), and finally the recent turmoil in the stock market (31%).
• Trump lost ground on the economy. Previously, his approval on the economy stood at 45% in February; now, it sits at 39%. However, his performance in managing the federal government is statistically unchanged from February (44% in Feb. 2025 vs. 42% in Apr. 2025).

3. Americans are mixed on actions the Trump administration has taken since inauguration.

• Less than half of Americans support most policies tested. The most popular policy tested is sending undocumented immigrants who are suspected of being members of a criminal group to a prison in El Salvador without a court hearing (47% support). The least popular policy is reducing federal funding for medical research (21% support).
• Forty-six percent say the Trump administration will cut unnecessary federal regulations while keeping those that are needed to protect public health and safety. Slightly more (52%) believe the Trump administration will cut federal regulations that are needed to protect public health and safety.
• Most Americans (66%) side with Harvard over the Trump administration (32%) when it comes to the Trump administration trying to take a greater role in Harvard University’s hiring of faculty, admission of students, and operation of its academic programs.

4. More Americans trust Trump to handle the country’s main problems over Democrats in Congress. Yet, most also believe Trump has gone beyond his authority as president since taking office.

• More Americans trust Trump to do a better job of handling the country’s main problems than Democrats in Congress (37% vs. 30%). However, 30% trust neither, while only 4% trust both equally.
• Most (60%) say Trump has gone beyond his authority as president since taking office, with 40% saying he has acted within his authority, unchanged from February 2025 when this question was last asked.
• In handling lawsuits against the Trump administration, most (62%) believe federal judges are trying to enforce existing limits on Trump’s legal authority; roughly one in three (35%) think federal judges are trying to interfere with Trump’s legal authority.
• In response to federal court rulings regarding its activities, most (65%) feel that the Trump administration is trying to avoid complying with court orders, while 31% think the administration is trying to comply with court orders.

About the Study

This ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted April 18 to 22, 2025, by Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel^®. Invitations were sent to 3,634 panelists, resulting in 2,529 completed interviews. In quality control, 63 respondents were removed for skipping half or more of the questions for which they were eligible or for completing the survey among the fastest 1 percent of interviews.  Two additional respondents were removed for self-reporting an age less than 18. 

The survey was conducted using KnowledgePanel, the most well-established online probability-based panel that is representative of the adult US population. Our recruitment process employs a scientifically developed addressed-based sampling methodology using the latest Delivery Sequence File of the USPS – a database with full coverage of all delivery points in the US. Households invited to join the panel are randomly selected from all available households in the U.S. Persons in the sampled households are invited to join and participate in the panel. Those selected who do not already have internet access are provided a tablet and internet connection at no cost to the panel member. Those who join the panel and who are selected to participate in a survey are sent a unique password-protected log-in used to complete surveys online. As a result of our recruitment and sampling methodologies, samples from KnowledgePanel cover all households regardless of their phone or internet status and findings can be reported with a margin of sampling error and projected to the general population. KnowledgePanel members receive a per survey incentive, usually the equivalent of $1 (though for some it is $2) in points, that can be redeemed for cash or prizes. No prenotification email was sent prior to field. Panelists receive a unique login to the survey and are only able to complete it one time. Two reminders were sent to hard-to-reach respondents. Hard-to-reach is defined as 18-29 years old or non-Whites, less than high school or did not vote in the 2024 presidential election.  The remaining sample received one reminder email.

The study was conducted in both English and Spanish. The data were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race/ethnicity, education, Census region by metropolitan status, household income, language dominance, 2024 presidential vote choice, and party identification. The demographic benchmarks came from 2024 March Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS) from the US Census Bureau. Language dominance benchmarks are from the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS). The 2024 presidential vote choice benchmarks came from the federal elections 2024 election results for the U.S. President while the Party Identification and frequency of internet use came from the 2024 National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS). The weighting categories were as follows:

• Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–29, 30–44, 45–59, and 60+)
• Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other or 2+ Races Non-Hispanic, Hispanic)
• Education (No high school diploma or GED, High school graduate (high school diploma or the equivalent GED), Some college or Associate’s degree, Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or above)
• Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West) by Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
• Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)
• Language Dominance (English dominant, Bilingual, Spanish dominant, non-Hispanic)
• 2024 Presidential Vote Choice (Harris, Trump, Another candidate, Not asked)
• Party Identification (Republican, Lean Republican, Independent/Not lean, Lean Democrat, Democrat)

The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.10. The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. Sampling error is only one potential source of error. There may be other unmeasured non-sampling error in this or any poll. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Mallory Newall
Vice President, US
Public Affairs
+1 202 374-2613
[email protected]

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