(The Hill) — Nearly half of Americans on Thursday said the economy is worsening, according to a new The Economist/YouGov poll.
Forty-eight percent of respondents said they believe the economy is worsening while 19 percent said it is improving.
The poll took place between March 9 and 11, a period that included rough days for the stock market. On Monday, the stock market started the week with intense losses. That day, the Dow Jones Industrial average closed with a loss of 890 points, dropping 2.1 percent.
Since the start of the month, stocks had been dropping steadily due to underwhelming economic data and President Trump’s tariff plans, but the selloff escalated Monday.
Peter Navarro, a senior trade adviser to President Trump, chalked up the stock market dip and consumer sentiment on Wednesday to the transition away from “Bidenomics” to “Trumpnomics.”
What alcohol would cost more under 200% Trump tariff?
The poll also found that most respondents were split on Trump’s approach to the economy. Forty-three percent approved while 47% disapproved.
Also on Thursday, a Quinnipiac University poll found that most Americans disapprove of the president’s handling of the economy. Another survey, from Reuters/Ipsos, found that most find Trump’s economic plans to be “erratic.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick doubled down on Navarro’s view, stating that any economic troubles could be blamed on former President Joe Biden.
“The only reason there could possibly be a recession is because of the Biden nonsense that we had to live with,” Lutnick said during a Tuesday interview.
The Thursday poll from The Economist/YouGov found that Americans are divided on whether the U.S. economy is experiencing a recession. Thirty-seven percent said they think so, while 32% said the opposite. A third of respondents said they were unsure.
The poll featured 1,699 people and plus or minus 3.2 percentage points as its margin of error.
Sophia Vento contributed to this report.
