Trump's approval rating ticks lower

U.S. President Donald Trump's approval rating ticked slightly lower this week to 42 percent, matching the lowest level of his new term as Americans kept a dour view of his handling of the U.S. economy, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The results of the three-day poll, which concluded on Sunday, showed a marginal dip from a week earlier when a Reuters/Ipsos survey showed that 44 percent of Americans approved of the job Trump was doing as president, and just 39 percent of respondents said Trump was doing a good job managing the U.S. economy, unchanged from a week earlier.

Trump won the 2024 presidential election on a promise to bring about a golden age for the U.S. economy, but his aggressive measures to reshape global commerce, including levying heavy tariffs on major trading partners, have increased the risks of recession, economists say.

Inflation rates in the United States soared under Biden but have been trending lower for several years. Some 33 percent of respondents in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll gave Trump a thumbs up on how he manages the cost of living, up from 31 percent a week earlier.

However, many economists expect inflation to heat back up as tariffs put pressure on the profits of importers. 

Trump on Saturday urged Walmart, the world's largest retailer, to "eat the tariffs" instead of blaming them for the retailer's increased prices. He has urged the country's independent central bank, the Federal Reserve, to lower interest rates, but central bankers have also expressed worry over the prospects of higher inflation.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll, carried out online and nationwide, surveyed 1,024 U.S. adults May 16-18.

(With input from Reuters)