Donald Trump’s approval drops amid fears of economic recession

Donald Trump’s approval rating dropped from a summer high amid concerns about an economic recession and fears that the president’s trade war with China will cause a spike in prices at the checkout line.

Trump’s approval rating came in at 38 per cent in a new Washington Post/ABC News poll, down 44 per cent from June. And 56 per cent said they disapproved of job performance.  

Those numbers trend with Gallup’s tracking poll, which found the president had a 44 per cent approval rating in July and but it dropped five points to 39 per cent in its latest survey. 

President Donald Trump’s approval rating dropped to 38 per cent in new poll

Six in 10 voters said they are concerned Trump's trade war with China will raise the price of goods

Six in 10 voters said they are concerned Trump’s trade war with China will raise the price of goods

Trump’s approval rating sits at 43 per cent in the RealClearPolitics polling average. 

One of the biggest concern cited by voters in the Washington Post/ABC News poll was that Trump’s trade war would result in price hikes, a narrative the administration has pushed back on.

Six in 10 said they are concerned the trade war with China will raise the price of goods with one-third ‘very concerned’ about the issue.

Overall, Trump’s handling of negotiations with Beijing proved a weak point for him with 35 per cent approving of his work and 56 per cent disapproving.  

The escalating trade war, where both has raised tariffs on each other’s goods, could see rising prices for clothes, shoes, sporting goods and other goods ahead of the holiday shopping season.

Negotiations between Washington D.C. and Beijing are ongoing.

Adding into those consumer fears are general fears the country is headed toward a recession. 

The poll found Trump’s economic approval rating dropped from 51 per cent in early July to 46 per cent, with 47 per cent disapproving. 

Additionally six in 10 voters said a recession is either ‘very likely’ or ‘somewhat likely’ in the next year. 

Trump has made a strong economy the key selling point in his 2020 re-election – a point his campaign staff have pushed.

‘The economy is strong and it continues to grow,’ Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told DailyMail.com Monday evening at the president’s rally in Fayetteville, N.C. ‘Month after month the jobs report is strong. Hiring is still going strong. All the indicators of a strong economy are still there.’

‘The economy is one of the great things that argues for the president’s re-election,’ he added. 

Trump campaign spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany echoed that message, pointing out the economy here is really strong thanks to the president’ and added that ‘we’re going to put a key focus on the fact that President Trump made the difference.’ 

She said the Trump campaign is focusing on an economic message ‘in every state.’ 

‘The economy is of the upmost importance,’ she added. 

While unemployment remains at a 50 year low, some other economic indicators have sparked worry – business investment has stalled and American manufacturing slowed for the first time in 10 years this month, endangering blue-collar jobs. 

The U.S. economy saw its growth slow in the second quarter of the year.

Gross domestic product was at 2 per cent, the Commerce Department said in late August, compared to the 3.1 per cent growth it experienced in the first three months of the year. 

Trump defended his handling of the economy during a campaign rally in North Carolina Monday night

Trump defended his handling of the economy during a campaign rally in North Carolina Monday night

The president spent several of the opening minutes of his North Carolina rally defending his economic record. 

‘The unemployment rate for African Americans, just yesterday, just reached another all-time low in the history of our country,’ he said. ‘Remember I used to say what do you have to lose? Now you have the best unemployment and employment numbers.’

The president argued women, African Americans, and Hispanics have all done better economically under his presidency.

But the Washington Post/ABC News poll found the president got some of his lowest marks from minorities. 

Among nonwhites as a whole, 21 per cent approved of Trump’s job performance, while 71 per cent disapproved.

Trump also slammed China for taking advantage of the U.S. and defended his trade war with Beijing.

‘Tariffs are a beautiful thing when you know how to use them,’ he said at his rally.  

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk