U.S. Political, Economic Indicators Steady in May

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Gallup’s monthly indicators of how Americans view key aspects of the country have been broadly steady in May. This includes job approval ratings for President Donald Trump and Congress, evaluations of the U.S. economy, satisfaction with the direction of the country, and perceptions of the most important problem facing the nation.

Forty-three percent of Americans approve of the way Trump is handling his job, essentially unchanged from his ratings in March and April after slipping from his second-term high of 47% in late January.

Trump’s 43% job approval rating reflects 90% approval from his fellow Republicans versus 4% from Democrats, both in line with prior readings. Only independents’ views of Trump have changed meaningfully this year, now at 33% but down from 46% in January.

The start of the May 1-18 poll coincided with “May Day” rallies across the country opposing Trump administration policies, particularly on immigration, federal spending and workforce cuts. It ended shortly after Trump returned from a four-day visit to the Arab Gulf region, where he announced several diplomatic and investment deals. Economic news was mixed over the course of the poll, including further gains on Wall Street after a nine-day winning streak for the S&P 500 that ended May 2, and as progress was made on some trade agreements, but spanning weak GDP and consumer spending reports.

Approval of Congress is 26% this month, similar to April’s 28% but down from 31% in March. This year’s congressional ratings, lifted by relatively high Republican approval (49%) of the GOP-led body, are the highest Gallup has seen since early 2021, when Democrats were highly positive about the then-Democratic-controlled Congress at the start of Joe Biden’s presidency.

Americans’ satisfaction with the way things are going in the country has also been elevated this year because of Republican enthusiasm. The 38% currently satisfied reflects 79% satisfaction from Republicans — near the record high for the GOP — versus 31% from independents and 4% from Democrats. U.S. satisfaction hasn’t been higher since registering above 40% in early 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the U.S.

Poor Governance, Immigration and Economic Concerns Fuel Dissatisfaction

As Americans offer tepid ratings of their national leaders and the country’s direction, they provide some indication of what is troubling them in their answers to Gallup’s question about the most important problem facing the nation.

Overall, more Americans cite noneconomic than economic issues as the top problem facing the country, 70% versus 35%. The top noneconomic issue named is poor governance or leadership, cited by 26%, followed by immigration, at 13%. While both of those perceptions are in line with prior readings this year, the percentage citing the judicial system or courts, in third at 5%, has ticked up from 2% in January. Race relations or racism ties for third among noneconomic problems.

Regarding economic issues, 16% of Americans identify “the economy” in general terms as their primary concern, while 8% say inflation and 4% name foreign trade or the trade deficit. Inflation is at the low end of this year's 8% to 12% range, while the 4% mentioning trade is one of the higher percentages ever mentioning this.

Republicans are most likely to mention immigration, at 25%, while Democrats (43%) and independents (23%) are focused primarily on poor government/leadership.

Men and women mention government, immigration and inflation to a similar degree, while men are slightly more likely than women to say the economy in general is the top problem.

Young adults are more focused than older adults on inflation, while older adults are more likely than younger adults to name poor government and immigration as the top problem.

Evaluations of the Economy Unchanged

Americans retain a dim view of the economy in May when asked about it directly. Just 23% characterize current economic conditions as “excellent” or “good,” while the rest are split between calling them “only fair” (38%) or “poor” (37%). Compounding this negative perspective, the majority perceive that economic conditions are getting worse (58%) rather than better (37%).

Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index, which is a summary of net-positive sentiments on the two measures — perceptions of the current economy and its trajectory — is now -18, on a scale from -100 to +100.

Today's score is within the -14 to -22 range observed since November, after Trump was elected. While improved over the lower readings measured for most of the prior three years, it represents a markedly different view of the economic climate from the one that prevailed during the first three years of Trump’s first term, when the index was in solidly positive territory.

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