Nearly half of voters now rate President Donald Trump’s economy as either “good” or “excellent,” with his economic approval seeing a sharp uptick over the past week, according to a new Wall Street Journal poll. The results mark the most favorable Journal survey for Trump since 2021.
The poll found that 47 percent of respondents now view the economy positively—up from 36 percent in the last poll conducted in April. This marks a notable turnaround following a year of widespread economic pessimism under President Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, the share of respondents who described the economy as “not good” or “poor” dropped to 51 percent, a steep 12-point decline over the past three months. Back in April, voters said the economy was stagnant or worsening by a 26-point margin.
That gap has now narrowed to just eight points—a dramatic shift that suggests a potential flip in public sentiment for the first time in over four years. Additionally, the number of Americans reporting that inflation is causing significant financial hardship has declined.
Rising economic approval numbers have significantly bolstered President Trump’s overall job approval. Despite a coordinated effort to falsely tie him to the Jeffrey Epstein case—including a controversial Wall Street Journal story that has prompted another Trump lawsuit—46 percent of respondents in the latest Journal poll said they approve of his job performance. This marks a record high for the survey, surpassing the 40 percent ceiling Trump never crossed during his first term.
Two additional major polls released this week showed even stronger approval ratings for President Trump, with Trafalgar/InsiderAdvantage putting him at 50 percent and Rasmussen at 49 percent.
The surge in economic approval comes on the heels of several trade announcements, most notably a new deal with Japan. Under the agreement, Japan will eliminate all existing trade barriers and tariffs on U.S. exports, while agreeing to a 15 percent duty on all Japanese goods entering the American market.
