65% of Americans blame Trump for high prices, new AP-NORC poll shows

About 65 percent of Americans say President Donald Trump’s policies are at least partly to blame for the country’s high cost of living, a new national poll finds — while only 17 percent approve of how he is handling the problem. The new AP-NORC poll, published on Wednesday, October 1, 2026, shows that public dissatisfaction with the economy has reached new levels for Trump’s second term: only 26 percent of U.S. adults approve of his handling of the economy overall, the lowest level ever recorded for this term and a drop of 14 percentage points since March 2025.

Particularly worrying for the White House is that 69 percent of Americans say Trump’s handling of the cost of living has been worse than they expected — including 52 percent of Republicans. Nevertheless, most of those Republicans continue to argue that high prices are beyond the president’s control: 67 percent of Republicans blame external factors for the cost of living, as the Associated Press reports.

The poll also finds that 46 percent of Americans say they and their families are worse off financially than a year ago. Trump’s overall approval in the poll stands at 31 percent, another sign of his political weakness at this stage of his term.

The survey was conducted from September 24 to 28 with 2,140 adults, with a margin of error of ±2.9 percentage points. The results come just a month before the midterm elections on November 3, as Trump has begun a campaign tour in Texas and Oklahoma in an effort to keep Republican control of Congress.