WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 Only about one-quarter of U.S. adults say that President Donald Trump's policies have helped them since he took office, according to a new poll that finds underwhelming marks for him on key issues, including the economy, immigration, government spending and health care.
In fact, the Republican president fails to earn majority approval on any of the issues included in the poll from . He's even slipped slightly since earlier this year on immigration, which has consistently been in his second term.
And while a majority of Americans do see Trump as at least 鈥渟omewhat鈥 capable of getting things done following the passage of , fewer believe he understands the problems facing people like them.
Most don't see positive impact from Trump's policies
Roughly half of U.S. adults report that Trump鈥檚 policies have 鈥渄one more to hurt鈥 them since began six months ago, the survey found. About 2 in 10 say his policies have 鈥渘ot made a difference鈥 in their lives, with about one-quarter saying his policies have "done more to help鈥 them.
The vast majority of Democrats and about half of independents say Trump鈥檚 policies have had a negative impact, while even many Republicans say they haven't seen positive effects.
鈥淎s it sits today, I don鈥檛 know his policies have made much of a difference in my day-to-day life,鈥 said Landon Lindemer, a 29-year-old logistics manager from suburban Atlanta who voted for Trump three times.
Lindemer said he generally approves of Trump's job performance, even if he has concerns about the massive spending in the big bill the president .
鈥淚鈥檓 not sold it鈥檚 really going to help," he said.
Low but steady presidential approval ratings
The mixed reviews on Trump's policies come as he struggles to follow through on key campaign promises, including lowering costs for working-class Americans, preserving popular social welfare programs like Medicaid, ending foreign wars and lowering government spending.
last month to its highest level since February as Trump鈥檚 push up the cost of everything from groceries and clothes to furniture and appliances. Separately, Trump鈥檚 budget bill included Medicaid cuts that will lead to and , the Congressional Budget Office estimated.
At the same time, violent conflicts still rage in Israel and Ukraine.
Overall, the new poll finds that about 4 in 10 U.S. adults approve of Trump's job performance, a figure that's in line with his June approval but historically weak compared with recent presidents. Closer to half of U.S. adults approved of President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama at roughly the same point in their Democratic presidencies, according to polls from AP-NORC and , although Biden's approval rating declined in the second half of his first year and for the rest of his time in office.
Poll respondent Bailey Neill, a 42-year-old attorney from San Antonio, said he was 鈥渢errified鈥 of Trump.
Neill, a Democrat who describes himself as a 鈥渟tudent of history,鈥 cast Trump as an authoritarian who has followed the controversial playbook outlined in , for transformative changes across the federal government that Trump tried to distance himself from before the November election.
鈥淚n terms of my day-to-day life, I really haven鈥檛 seen a change, except for the general fear and anxiety I feel at a core level,鈥 Neill said.
Most disapprove of Trump's handling of immigration, economy and more
Trump earned less than 50% approval on every issue included in the new AP-NORC poll, including the economy, government spending, trade, taxes, immigration, health care and his handling of the conflict in the Middle East.
Only 43% of U.S. adults said they approved of his handling of immigration, down slightly from the 49% who back in March.
Trump also appears to have lost some support for his spending decisions. About 4 in 10 Americans approve of Trump's handling of government spending, down from 46% in March.
On the economy overall, roughly 4 in 10 adults approve of Trump's performance, which hasn't changed measurably in the last few months.
Timothy Dwyer, of Dyersburg, Tennessee, a 26-year-old self-described independent who works in retail sales and leans Republican, said Trump's work on the economy, especially , has 鈥渞eally sucked.鈥
鈥淗e鈥檚 turned us into a toilet and has absolutely made us the laughing stock of the world,鈥 Dwyer said of Trump's trade policies, while also lamenting the president's work on reducing grocery prices and health care.
Most view Trump as effective, but fewer think he understands their needs
Despite such criticism, most U.S. adults think Trump is at least somewhat effective.
About 6 in 10 say 鈥渃apable of getting things done鈥 describes Trump at least 鈥渟omewhat鈥 well. And about half of U.S. adults say the same about the phrases 鈥済ood negotiator鈥 or 鈥渃apable of handling a crisis."
That doesn't mean they believe Trump can see things from their perspective.
Most Americans, 56%, say 鈥渦nderstands the problems facing people like you鈥 is a phrase that describes Trump 鈥渘ot very well鈥 or 鈥渘ot well at all.鈥 His numbers on the question are relatively weak even among those in his party: Just about half of Republicans say he understands the problems facing people like them 鈥渆xtremely鈥 or 鈥渧ery鈥 well.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 doing quite well. He could be doing a hell of a lot worse,鈥 said poll respondent Levi Fischer, of Marshalltown, Iowa, who voted for Trump three times.
Still, Fischer acknowledged that he hasn't seen the economy improve as quickly as he hoped. Trump's policies, he said, 鈥渄on't make much difference in my life.鈥
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Peoples reported from New York.
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The AP-NORC poll of 1,437 adults was conducted July 10-14, using a sample drawn from NORC鈥檚 probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
