President Donald Trump keeps insisting that prices are dropping and inflation is barely an issue, but a new national survey shows Americans simply are not buying it. The latest CBS News/YouGov poll reveals a disconnect between the White House’s economic rhetoric and how voters say they are experiencing daily life, and that gap is reflecting in his poll numbers
For months, Trump has claimed that prices are down, that the United States has “almost no inflation,” and that the cost of groceries is “coming down very substantially.” He has repeated different versions of these messages every chance he gets, insisting that the economy is stable and only getting strong but the poll numbers tell a very different story.
According to the CBS News/YouGov survey, 60 percent of Americans aren’t buying Trump’s description of prices and inflation and it’s not only Democrats that don’t believe Trump, but about four in ten Republicans also agree that Trump’s claims do not match reality.
Views of the overall economy have also slipped. Only 32 percent of respondents say the economy is good, down from 35 percent earlier in the month and from highs of 39 percent in May and July. Most Americans say prices are still rising, not falling.
The cost of food and groceries appears to be driving much of the frustration. A majority, 58 percent, say Trump’s policies are making grocery prices rise. Another 31 percent believe costs have stayed the same. Only 11 percent believe Trump’s claim that groceries are cheaper.
Hmmmmm…. So tell me again about how Trump is bringing down prices? pic.twitter.com/gagIKBE6B0
— Morgan J. Freeman (@mjfree) November 24, 2025
When asked about prices more broadly, 65 percent of Americans say Trump’s policies are pushing them higher. Just 21 percent believe his policies have no effect. A small minority, only 14 percent, believe he has helped bring prices down.
Those perceptions are feeding into a deeper concern about the president’s priorities. Americans who judge Trump primarily on his handling of the economy and inflation overwhelmingly feel he is not focused enough on those issues. Seventy-seven percent of respondents say he is not spending enough time addressing the affordability crisis. Only 18 percent think he has the balance right, and just 5 percent believe he’s spending too much time on the economy.
Not surprisingly, his approval ratings are following the same downward path. Trump’s approval on the economy and inflation is now just 36 percent, down significantly from a high of 51 percent in March. More than two-thirds of Americans disapprove of his handling of inflation. Sixty-four percent disapprove of his handling of the economy overall, and 60 percent disapprove of his performance as president.
Other recent polling backs up the sentiment among voters as several outlets have found that large majorities of Americans say grocery and utility prices have risen in recent months, even as Trump insists the opposite. In one poll, only about one in ten Americans said grocery prices had decreased.
Trump has remained defiant in his messaging on the economy. He has argued that inflation is essentially over, cited isolated examples like cheaper Thanksgiving promotions at major retailers, and maintained that his administration is delivering relief.
