Fox News Poll: Voters See White House Harming Economy

Key Takeaways from the Latest Fox News National Survey

The latest Fox News national survey highlights a growing sense of dissatisfaction among voters, particularly concerning the economy, rising prices, and the policies of the Trump administration. This sentiment is especially strong among the president’s core supporters, leading to high levels of disapproval.

Economic Discontent Among Voters

A significant 76% of voters view the economy negatively, which is worse than the 67% in July and the 70% at the end of former President Biden’s term. This trend reflects a worsening perception of economic conditions over time. Large numbers of voters, both overall and among Republicans, report that their costs for groceries, utilities, healthcare, and housing have increased this year.

Blame on the President

Voters are increasingly blaming the president for the current economic situation. About twice as many say President Donald Trump, rather than Biden, is responsible for the current economy. Additionally, three times as many believe Trump’s economic policies have hurt them. Approval of how Trump is handling the economy has hit a new low, with disapproval of his overall job performance reaching record highs among core supporters.

Government Shutdown Impact

Following the government shutdown, both the GOP and the Democratic Party have seen lower favorable ratings. Approximately 6 in 10 voters feel that the president and lawmakers on both sides don’t care about people like them.

Party Perceptions on Key Issues

Voters perceive Republicans as having a better plan for border security, immigration, and crime, while Democrats are seen as better on affordability, wages, healthcare, and climate. Views on Trump’s peace deals and the administration’s strategy for dealing with drug-traffickers remain divided.

Detailed Findings from the Survey

Job Performance Ratings

Trump’s job performance garners career-high disapproval among men, White voters, and those without a college degree. Eighty-six percent of Republicans approve, down from 92% in March. Among all voters, 41% approve of the job Trump is doing, while 58% disapprove. Only once have his ratings been lower, during his first term: 38-57% in October 2017. Two months ago, it was 46-54%.

For comparison, Biden’s marks were slightly better at the same point in his presidency: 44% approved and 54% disapproved in November 2021.

Personal Finances

Forty percent of voters rate their personal finances as excellent/good, while 60% say only fair/poor, which is about where things stood a year ago. Ratings are notably bad (roughly 70% negative) among non-college voters, Hispanics, Blacks, independents, and those under age 45. For those with household income below $50K, fully 79% rate their finances negatively.

Inflation and Cost Concerns

When it comes to the national economy versus personal finances, evaluations are also negative, as most say conditions are only fair/poor (76%), and fewer than one in five think inflation is completely/mostly under control (18%). Compared to a year ago, voters say costs have increased for utilities (78%), healthcare (67%), housing (66%), and gasoline (54%). It’s 85% who say their groceries went up this year, including 60% who say costs increased "a lot."

Policy Blame and Responsibility

By a nearly 2-to-1 margin, voters say Trump is more responsible for the current economy than Biden (62% vs. 32%). Unsurprisingly, there’s a large partisan gap, as Democrats are nearly 40 percentage points more likely than Republicans to blame Trump. Somewhat surprisingly, 42% of Republicans blame him, while a 53% majority says Biden is responsible. Among independents, 62% say Trump and 29% Biden.

Party Preferences on Key Issues

A larger share believes the Republicans have a better plan on securing the border, dealing with illegal immigrants, reducing crime, and reducing the federal budget deficit. Democrats are preferred on addressing climate change, reducing the cost of healthcare, raising wages, and making things more affordable. The parties are about equal on the issue of job creation.

Political Leadership and Public Perception

Congressional Democrats said the shutdown was about extending subsidies for Obamacare. The 2010 healthcare law remains popular, as 54% have a favorable opinion of it — although much of that comes from nearly 9 in 10 Democrats viewing it positively. Not only do voters think Democrats have a better plan for reducing healthcare costs, but also Trump receives his lowest approval on the issue of healthcare.

"The situation isn’t complicated," says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who helps run the Fox News Poll with Democrat Chris Anderson. "People are struggling to afford necessities and blaming those in charge. What’s interesting is watching Democrats gain politically from a problem they arguably caused — and that crushed them in 2024. But that’s politics."

Government Shutdown Impact

While many families say the government shutdown caused them severe (10%) or moderate hardship (35%), more than half say it was not a hardship at all (54%). The shutdown wasn’t a political winner for anyone: nearly two-thirds disapprove of how Trump (62%), Congressional Republicans (63%), and Congressional Democrats (64%) handled it.

Party Favorability

A record low 39% have a favorable view of the Democratic Party, down from 42% in July. Another 39% have positive views of the GOP, down from 44% this summer. For Trump, it’s 40% positive, down from 43% in September and 50% in January.

But it’s Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer whose marks have deteriorated the most, as a record low 22% view him favorably vs. 54% unfavorably, for a net rating of -32 points. His ratings were underwater by 16 points in January. Among Democrats, positive views of Schumer went from 51% in January to 38% today.

Voter Sentiment on Political Leaders

Voters also think their political leaders don’t care about people like them, as roughly 6 in 10 say Democrats (59%) and Republicans (65%) in Congress and Trump (63%) don’t care.

Foreign Policy and Border Security

Trump’s job ratings on foreign policy are underwater: 43% approve, while 55% disapprove. Yet views are more evenly divided on whether his recent peace deals will make the world safer or less safe (37% apiece), with one quarter saying not much difference. And 49% favor the U.S. military using deadly force against presumed drug trafficking boats departing from Venezuela, while 47% oppose those efforts.

The president receives his top marks on border security (53% approve). Nearly half approve of his handling of immigration (46%), while a new low approves on the economy (38%), and about one-third approve on tariffs (35%) and healthcare (34%).

Additional Insights from the Survey

The electorate believes the different branches of government are failing to live up to their constitutional obligations. Two-thirds are concerned about Congress (64%) and the Supreme Court (63%) not doing the checks and balances that they should and are giving too much of their constitutional authority to the president. At the same time, about half (47%) are concerned the judicial branch is obstructing Trump’s constitutional authority to carry out his agenda.

Conducted November 14-17, 2025, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,005 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (104) and cellphones (646) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (255). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data.

Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.