As the cost of everyday essentials continues to strain household budgets, a new CBS News poll finds that American voters want former President Donald Trump to shift his economic focus away from tariffs and trade wars—and toward addressing rising prices.

The survey results reveal that inflation remains a top concern for voters, many signaling that future support hinges on a candidate’s ability to tackle the issue head-on. While Trump has long leaned into protectionist trade policies, the data suggests that voters across party lines are more interested in immediate relief at the grocery store and gas pump than in international economic posturing. 

Election analysts say Donald Trump ran and won the 2024 presidential race on the promise to make Americans more financially well off than they’d been under Biden’s terms, but his actions have proven otherwise. 

According to the poll, just a quarter of Americans say those policies are helping their wallets. Nearly twice as many say he's making their money woes worse. 

Polling results also showed that the president’s loyal party, the Republicans, are even showing signs of discontent.

“Just before he took office, three-fourths of Republicans said Mr. Trump's policies as president would make them better off, and now, under half of them say that's what is happening so far,” CBS writes. 

The poll gleaned Americans’ views on financial forecasting across various topics, namely inflation rates.  

Trump's approval for handling inflation skews negative despite his grand statements about bringing the rates down while on the campaign trail. 

“I will very quickly deflate,” he said at a California rally. “We are going to take inflation, and we are going to deflate it. We are going to deflate inflation. We are going to defeat inflation. We’re going to knock the hell out of inflation.” 

As of February 2025, the current annual inflation rate in the US is 2.8%, with core inflation at 3.1%. Auto purchase rates, grocery prices, and rent rates have reportedly increased since Trump took office. 

Regarding Trump’s overall job rating, pollsters’ opinions were split, with 50% approving and 50% disapproving of this performance.