Poll: Majority of Americans say economy is getting worse

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(The Center Square) – Most Americans say the U.S. economy is getting worse, according to new polling released Monday.

The latest Gallup poll found no change in Americans' confidence in the U.S. economy over the past month. Gallup's Economic Confidence Index remained steady at -20. That indicates relatively few Americans rating existing economic conditions as excellent or good (28%). The majority (63%) continue to say the economy is getting worse, according to the poll. 

"Americans' views about the economy have been moderately negative all year," according to the poll. "These ratings extend a negative stretch for the index that's been in place since 2021 and contrast with Trump's first term, when confidence was consistently positive until the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020."

The economy in Trump's second term has been marked by the president's swift action to overhaul global trade through tariffs.

Trump used a 1977 law that doesn't mention tariffs to reorder global trade through tariffs to try to give U.S. businesses an advantage in the world market. Using tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Trump hit nearly every nation with import duties of at least 10%. Some countries face higher rates, up to 50%.

Those tariffs have pushed up prices, but so far, many importers are eating the costs of the higher prices. 

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon recently told investors that the company could be forced to raise prices further due to tariff pressure.

"With regard to our U.S. pricing decisions, given tariff related cost pressures, we're doing what we said we would do," he said. "We're keeping our prices as low as we can for as long as we can."

Walmart isn't alone. Home Depot initially told Americans that it would hold the line on prices. However, in August, the home-improvement retailer with more than 2,300 stores across North America said prices will increase in some categories due to significantly higher tariffs than it expected in May.

Trump's new tariffs raised $80.3 billion in revenue between January 2025 and July 2025 before accounting for income and payroll tax offsets, according to an analysis of federal data from the Penn Wharton Budget Model.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that Trump's tariffs could generate $4 trillion in revenue over the next decade, but they would raise consumer prices and reduce the purchasing power of U.S. families.

Trump has said he wants to use tariffs to restore manufacturing jobs lost to lower-wage countries in decades past, shift the tax burden away from U.S. families, and pay down the national debt.

A tariff is a tax on imported goods that the importer pays, not the producer. The importer pays the cost of the duties directly to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a federal agency.