By Michael Katz | Monday, 09 March 2026 10:22 PM EDT
A new NBC News poll reveals President Donald Trump’s approval rating for handling inflation and the cost of living stands at 36%, significantly below his overall job performance rating of 44%. The survey conducted among 1,000 registered voters from February 27 to March 3 found 62% of respondents disapprove of his economic management, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Patrick Allocco, founder of the Zoose Political Index, noted that the gap underscores economic concerns as the president’s most pressing challenge heading into midterm elections. “That tells me that the economy is still the president’s biggest challenge,” Allocco stated in a recent interview. He identified recent market volatility, rising gas prices, inflation spikes, and stock market fluctuations as key factors driving voter focus on financial realities.
Allocco emphasized that inflation and cost-of-living issues were cited by 26% of voters as their primary concern and accounted for an additional 48% when combined with secondary priorities. He dismissed “threats to democracy” as a political messaging tactic rather than a core voter priority, explaining: “Threats to democracy is a messaging phrase, not a kitchen table issue. And if you look at the poll closely, the answers mostly mirror the president’s approval numbers.”
The analysis also highlighted partisan alignment in voter sentiment. Immigration policy received 44% approval and 54% disapproval among respondents, reflecting the president’s overall job approval rating of 44%. Allocco observed that recent geopolitical tensions involving Iran could trigger short-term economic shocks but would likely not shift voter priorities due to heightened political polarization. “The president knows a war today doesn’t create the kind of approval bump it once did,” he added. “Back in the Bush days, approvals could jump into the 80s or even 90s. Today’s politics—wars don’t change voters. They simply reinforce the two Americas that already exist.”
