President Donald Trump acknowledged in an NBC News interview that his standing on the economy does not meet his expectations. He told anchor Tom Llamas, “I don’t know,” when asked why polls have not improved.
Trump made this comment during a wide-ranging sit-down in the Oval Office, which was taped on Wednesday, Feb. 4, ahead of NBC’s Super Bowl pregame programming, according to NBC News.
Llamas first asked Trump about public polling on his immigration enforcement tactics and then pressed him on the economy. Trump said he did not trust the polling. He argued that the numbers did not reflect what he described as strong results at the border. “Well, I don’t believe the polls for one thing, because how can you not have, I saw a poll on the border where I’m at 55%, okay?” Trump said.
He claimed to have seen surveys with much higher approval ratings and others with much lower numbers. “I don’t believe the polls. And some polls, I mean, I could show you polls where I’m polling at 69% popularity and some polls where I have one at 71,” he told Llamas.
Llamas replied that NBC would ask the White House to share the polls Trump mentioned. Trump continued, “And then I have polls where I’m at 44% and 42%. The polls are almost dishonest, almost as dishonest as some of the reporters themselves,” he said.
Trump noted that he was receiving “very good polls” on “crime prevention,” “law and order,” and “the border,” then shifted to the economy. “And I’m getting, starting to get great polls on the economy,” Trump said.
Llamas pushed back. “The polls on the economy aren’t, they’re not great,” he said. Trump responded, “They should be great.” Llamas then inquired why the numbers were not strong if Trump believed the economy was performing well. “I don’t know. I don’t know,” Trump admitted.
Trump: I’m starting to get great polls on the economy.
Llamas: The polls on the economy, they’re not great.
Trump: They should be great.
Llamas: So why aren’t they?
Trump: I don’t knowpic.twitter.com/02SUyAcEIO
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) February 5, 2026
NBC announced earlier this week that the interview would air in segments on NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas, stream in an extended format on Top Story with Tom Llamas on NBC News NOW, and include a portion in the Super Bowl LX pregame show.
This sit-down was Llamas’ first one-on-one interview with Trump since Llamas became the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News.
In the excerpted discussion on polling, Trump pointed to what he called a “beautifully closed” border and stated, “It couldn’t be better. I should be at 100%.”
The White House later promoted the interview in a post that highlighted Trump’s claims about the economy, immigration, and other topics discussed with Llamas.
This exchange marked a rare moment when Trump, who has long dismissed unfavorable surveys outright, did not provide an explanation for weak economic polling.
While he repeatedly challenged the reliability of the numbers and insisted his policies should receive broad support, his brief admission of “I don’t know” highlighted that public sentiment has not matched his claims. Meanwhile, the White House continues to describe the economy and border enforcement as political strengths as the midterm election cycle approaches.
