A new Harvard CAPS/Harris survey found more than half of U.S. voters think the economy is worse under Trump than it was under Biden. And 62% blame the current state of the economy on Trump, not Biden.
President Donald Trump blames shrinking economy on Biden
At a cabinet meeting, President Donald Trump blamed shrinking economic growth in the first quarter of the year on Joe Biden.
President Donald Trump has talked endlessly and inaccurately about how his predecessor’s economy was a “disaster” and a “catastrophe.” He even once said, “You could take the five worst presidents in American history, and put them together, and they would not have done the damage Joe Biden has done to our nation in just a few short years. Not even close.”
Well, Mr. President, I have some bad news. You’ve bungled your second term so thoroughly that voters are wishing they could return to the halcyon days of “Sleepy Joe” Biden.
A new Harvard CAPS/Harris survey found that more than half of U.S. voters think the economy is worse under Trump than it was under Biden. And 62% blame the current state of the economy on Trump rather than Biden.
To adopt a bit of Trump’s typical patter: “They’re begging like dogs to go back. They’re saying, ‘Can we please have some more of President Biden’s catastrophe? Pretty please?’”
Trump stinks so bad he has Americans missing the Joe Biden economy
A CNN report on a poll the network released April 1 noted: “The 65% who say Trump’s policies have made the economy worse is the highest of his presidency, higher than the share who said the same about Democrat Joe Biden’s policies at any point during his time in office.”
Oh, Joe. Come back!
Trump can shout that the economy is roaring and America is the hottest country in the world until he’s more orange than usual in the face, but it’s clear that, like cheap MAGA merchandise, nobody’s buying it.
Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, as they should
CNN’s poll found that 72% of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling inflation, a higher disapproval rate than Biden (68%) and former President Jimmy Carter (66%) at this point in their presidencies.
Biden’s lowest disapproval rating on gas prices was 72%, but the CNN poll has Trump at 76% disapproval on that subject. And only 31% approve of Trump’s handling of the economy.
It’s possible Americans are feeling flimflammed because flimflam artist Trump managed to take high post-COVID inflation rates and use them to slam what was otherwise a strong Biden economy, riding people’s economic fears back to the White House.
He then proceeded to unleash ludicrous tariffs and, among other things, start a war with Iran, spiking oil prices, while also doing away with Affordable Care Act subsidies and failing to lower food costs.
‘Job creation has slowed and the unemployment rate has risen’
Dean Baker, a senior fellow at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, wrote a comparison of the Biden/Trump economies in March and concluded this:
“By pretty much every standard measure, the economy was quite strong at the end of 2024. Inflation was somewhat above the Fed’s 2.0 percent target, but it had been headed downward for the prior two years and nearly all projections showed inflation continuing to decline. The Fed was lowering interest rates, and these rate cuts would almost certainly have continued into the winter, if the election of Donald Trump had not raised the prospect of sharply higher tariffs and inflation. Lower rates would have helped to lower mortgage rates and boost construction, which would hasten the decline in house prices.
“It is far too soon to pronounce a verdict on the Trump administration’s policies, but the impact to date has been the opposite of what has been claimed. Higher tariffs have boosted inflation, even if by somewhat less than many had predicted. Job creation has slowed and the unemployment rate has risen. And there is no evidence of a manufacturing boom, as both manufacturing employment and factory construction have fallen.”
Summarizing that, and taking into account all current polling showing staggering dissatisfaction with the current president, what I surmise many U.S. voters are trying to say right now is: Oops.
Trump can’t pass off his own economy as Biden’s fault
A White House spokesperson recently said in a statement to MS NOW: “President Trump was resoundingly re-elected to the White House precisely because he understood how Americans were left behind by Joe Biden’s economic disaster.”
That line of hooey ain’t workin’ anymore, kiddo. Not when most Americans would take “Joe Biden’s economic disaster” over whatever the heck it is Trump is doing to the country.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk
