Nearly Two-Thirds Of Voters Say They're Not Financially “Better Off' Since Trump Took Office
November 5th 2019
Donald Trump Signs The Pledge (Michael Vadon)
By Kerry Eleveld
So much for that red-hot economy Donald Trump and Republicans keep touting: A new Financial Times poll released Monday reveals that nearly two-thirds of voters say they are not financially better off since Trump was elected. That number includes 31% who say they are actually worse off under Trump's tenure and another 33% who say their financial well-being is unchanged since he was inaugurated. Only 35% say they are now better off than when Trump first set foot in the Oval Office.
About half of respondents who said they were worse off blamed either slow wage growth (36%) or family debts (19%) for their declining fortunes. Respondents were also exactly evenly split on whether Trump's policies had helped the U.S. economy, with 45% saying yes and 45% saying no.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the demographic most likely to say they are better off now were college-educated white men. What that suggests is that Trump's singular achievement as president, the strength of the economy—the issue all Republicans hope to run for reelection on in 2020—has helped only a narrow portion of the country. For Trump, that means his reelection depends on a large swath of his 2016 voters ignoring the fact that Trump has done little to nothing to improve their lives.
Posted with permission