Fox News Poll: Economic pessimism abates slightly as voters reflect on the economy

Voters are feeling a bit better about the economy, yet overall sentiment remains negative.

Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, positive ratings of the economy have inched up from 21% in March to 28% in April to 31% in the latest Fox News survey, which is about where things stood at the end of the Biden administration in January. During the previous four years, that number was higher than the current rating only once, when it hit 32% in June 2024. For reference, at the end of the first Trump administration, 33% gave economic conditions positive marks (December 2020), but that had been as high as 55% in January 2020 (just before the pandemic).

Currently, 62% say their family is getting ahead (14%) or holding steady financially (48%), up 5 points since January. The 36% who say they are falling behind is the lowest in four years.

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Still, economic sentiment is mostly gloomy: 84% are extremely or very concerned about inflation, 68% score conditions as only fair or poor, and 55% feel pessimistic about the economy.

Democrats, Independents, women, and voters without a college degree are among those most likely to say the economy is in bad shape, while Republicans, men, and college graduates are among those most likely to rate it better.

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"During the Biden years, Republicans and independents were overwhelmingly negative about the economy, while Democrats were slightly less so," says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who helps run the Fox News survey with Democrat Chris Anderson. "Now with Trump as president, Democrats think the sky is falling, while Republicans see rays of sunlight."

By a 21-point margin, voters oppose the federal budget legislation passed by the House of Representatives that the president calls the "One Big Beautiful Bill" (38% favor vs. 59% oppose). About half think the bill would hurt their family (49%), while one quarter think it would help (23%), and another quarter don’t think it would make a difference (26%).

Sixty percent feel they have a good understanding of what is in the OBBB, and while those voters are more likely to favor the legislation than those who are unfamiliar with it, more still think it will hurt rather than help their family (45% vs. 34%).

Views of the legislation are highly partisan, with Republicans favoring it (73%), and Democrats (89%) and Independents (73%) opposed. Fewer than half of Republicans think it will help their family (46%).

Overall, 57% think tariffs hurt the economy, the highest ever recorded in Fox News surveys -- and double the number who think tariffs help.

While a majority (53%) approve of Trump’s handling of border security (46% disapprove), the president otherwise receives negative marks on the issues: immigration (46% approve, 53% disapprove), and foreign policy (42-57%). His worst ratings are on the economy (40-58%) and inflation (34-64%), where he’s underwater by a whopping 30 points.

The president’s overall job approval stands at 46%, while 54% disapprove. That’s up a couple ticks from 44-55% in April. His highest approval, 49%, came in March 2025 and April 2020. Men under age 45 (55% approve) and White men without a college degree (54% approve) are among those giving the president his best marks. Seven in 10 Republicans consider themselves part of the MAGA movement, and fully 98% of them approve.

About 90% of Democrats disapprove of the job Trump is doing generally and on specific issues, with the exception of border security, where fewer disapprove (80%). Most Republicans are with Trump, but approval drops to 68% on inflation and 75% on the economy, generally. Disapproval among Independents ranges from roughly half on border security to three-quarters on inflation.

When voters are asked how they feel about Trump as a person, his ratings are underwater by 10 points: 45% have a favorable opinion and 55% an unfavorable view. For comparison, that’s about on par with JD Vance (44- 53%), Joe Biden (43-56%), and Marco Rubio (42-46%), and ahead of Elon Musk (41-58%), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (40-45%), Gavin Newsom (39-45%), and Pete Hegseth (32-45%), while his ratings trail those of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (48-50%) and Kamala Harris (49-51%). Harris’s higher favorability comes from more Democrats (87%) and Independents (38%) viewing her positively compared to favorable views of Trump among Republicans (85%) and Independents (34%).

None of those tested – not the president, not the vice president and not the former president nor the former vice president -- garnered positive marks from at least 50% of voters, although Harris comes closest.

As mentioned above, most are concerned about inflation (84%), including 78% of Republicans.

By a single point, the future of the U.S. narrowly tops inflation as voters’ top concern, with 85% saying they’re worried about the direction of the country. That includes 8 in 10 Republicans, and 9 in 10 Democrats and Independents.

Eight in 10 voters are concerned about government spending and Iran getting a nuclear weapon, while around 7 in 10 are worried about antisemitism, illegal immigration, and the use of the U.S. military domestically, and roughly 6 in 10 about protests in U.S. cities.

More Democrats (87%) and Independents (71%) express concern about the deployment of federal troops in cities in response to anti-ICE protests than Republicans (42%). On the other hand, more Republicans (84%) are worried about illegal immigration than Independents (68%) and Democrats (49%).

There are zero issues that all three groups, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, agree on as priorities. The top three concerns for Democrats are the future of the U.S., inflation, and U.S. troops being deployed, while for Republicans, it’s illegal immigration, Iran getting nukes, and government spending. Among Independents, it’s the future of the country, inflation, and government spending.

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Conducted June 13-16, 2025, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,003 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (149) and cellphones (566) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (288). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data.

Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.