Economic News

Trump’s Economic Efforts Earn Majority Support

These days it seems it’s hard to find a majority consensus about anything — yet it seems the economy may be a surprising exception. According to CNBC‘s All-America Economic Survey, 51% of Americans said they approved of the President’s handling of the economy. This marks the first time the Commander in Chief has broken past 50% approval when it comes to his economic performance and represents a six-point increase from the previous installment of the survey. Moreover his disapproval rate in this survey fell six points from March, with 36% saying they weren’t in favor of his economic efforts.

As part of their survey, CNBC also found that 45% of Americans would currently rate the health of the U.S. economy either “good” or “excellent.” The showing is the highest recorded in the survey’s 10-year history. Similarly the combined 43% that rated the economy as “fair” or “poor” amounted to the smallest number the survey has seen.

Speaking about the survey’s finding, Democratic pollster Jay Cambell acknowledged that there were some on the left that were seemingly coming around on at least this one aspect of the President. He told CNBC, “There is a component of the Democratic base that’s willing to acknowledge the improving economy and willing to give Trump a certain amount of credit for it.” He continued,  “A large number still disapprove of Trump on the economy but 30 percent of Democrats is not nothing.”

Of course there’s a sizeable difference between approving of the current economic climate and supporting the President outright. This is evidenced in overall approval ratings where President Trump is upside down by six points, 41% approving to 47% disapproving. However, to be fair, that is the lowest disapproval rating CNBC has recorded for the President since he took office in January 2017. Still, even among Republicans, there’s a chasm between economic approval (96%) and overall job approval (85%).

What’s also somewhat ironic about CNBC’s survey results is the timing. With the survey being conducted between June 16th and 19th, the higher-than-normal approval ratings came as controversy over the administration’s policies at the border exploded. Meanwhile, on the economic front, markets have seen a turbulent few weeks as the U.S. continues varying degrees of trade wars on multiple fronts. In fact, at press time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down more than 350 points for the day following reports that the administration will seek to limit Chinese investments in stateside tech.

CNBC’s latest survey results raise some interesting questions while also highlighting an overall truth: the economy is currently performing well overall. With unemployment at a near 20-year low, it’s hard to argue that the U.S. economy isn’t strong in at least some areas. That said there are still those who maintain that the growth seen cannot truly be attributed to President Trump and may go so far as to suggest growth is occurring in spite of his administration’s policies. With that, we’ll have to see if the President can hold onto his majority approval for very long.

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