FT/Focaldata Poll Finds 53% of US Voters Say Their Finances Have Worsened Since January 2025
The Facts
- The Financial Times/Focaldata poll surveyed 1,913 registered US voters between August 7 and August 10.
- More than 53 percent of registered voters said their finances had worsened since Trump returned to office in January 2025.
- Nearly 57 percent of independents and almost one-quarter of self-identified Republicans said they were worse off financially.
- In the same poll, 64 percent said the US economy is moving in the wrong direction and 25 percent said the right direction.
- About 26 percent of respondents reported no change in their finances and roughly 21 percent said they were better off.
- Voters in the poll trusted Democrats more than Republicans on inflation and the cost of living.
- Democrats also led on jobs and the economy, issues long regarded as Republican strengths.
- The poll was released less than three months before midterm elections in which Republicans are defending congressional majorities.
- Other recent surveys also recorded declining approval of Trump's handling of the economy and softening support among Republicans.
Context
How much has Trump's standing with his own party shifted?
Newsweek reported that Trump's net approval among Republicans fell 8 percentage points over the past month in the FT/Focaldata polling Newsweek. Separately, an Economist/YouGov poll put his approval among Republicans at 79 percent, described as a second-term low and a 12-point decline from shortly after he took office, with the share who 'strongly approve' down 20 points, from 68 to 48 percent Axios.
How did partisan groups differ in the results?
Among Democrats, 78 percent said they were worse off, compared with 57 percent of independents mint,Коммерсант.…. Republicans were more positive: 42 percent said they were better off, 23 percent said worse off and 35 percent reported no change mint.
What is at stake in November and how are Republicans responding?
The November 3 elections will decide control of the House and part of the Senate Парламентск…,Corriere della Sera. Axios noted that losing one or both chambers would mean two years of investigations and legislative gridlock for the remainder of Trump's term Axios. CNN reported Trump has approved spending from his personal PAC to support vulnerable Republicans, with one person citing $30 million in an initial tranche, though final figures are not settled CNN Español.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
Left and right largely agree on this one.
- Where Left and Right agree
- Lived household finances, not directional talking points, are the real test — and by that test a quarter of Republicans and 57 percent of independents say they lost ground.
- Where Left and Right differ in emphasis
- Whether the story is an opening Democrats must convert into wages, prices, and corporate accountability, or a governing party's failure to reach its own voters' bills.
How left and right read it
Whether people can afford their own lives is the only economic test that counts, and by that test more than 53 percent of voters say they have lost ground since January 2025 — including nearly 57 percent of independents and almost a quarter of Republicans. That is why voters now trust Democrats over Republicans on inflation, the cost of living, and even jobs. The warning signs are stacking up. Democrats should not merely absorb that trust; they should earn it with wages, prices, and corporate accountability.
“It's a plethora of warning signs for Donald Trump and his party as they seek to hold on to majorities in both chambers of Congress this fall.” — The Independent
Majorities are defended in household budgets, not with claims about direction — and almost a quarter of self-identified Republicans say they are worse off since January 2025, with only about 21 percent better off. Loyalty is not a price cut. That is why trust on jobs and the economy, long a Republican strength, has moved to Democrats, and with the midterms this close the question is what actually reaches people's bills.
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