Confidence in the economy and personal finances has fallen sharply since President Trump announced his tariff decisions.

Prior to this past week, perceptions of the economy were better than they had been before Trump won the election. Forty-one percent (41%) now say the US is in a recession. That's the highest total since the election, and up 7 points from a week ago. Another 13% say we will enter a recession in the next six months.

In addition, 25% now say their personal finances are getting better, while 41% say they are getting worse. That net difference of -16 is down eleven points from a week ago. (At that time, 27% said better, and 32% said worse.) The current better or worse figures are exactly the same as they were in our final survey before Trump's victory in November.

It is worth noting that, despite these economic impacts, voter reaction to Trump's tariff policy is unchanged. If these negative effects continue beyond an expected initial downturn, those numbers will shift. 

The most recent data cited is from a Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 Registered Voters conducted online by Scott Rasmussen April 7-8, 2025. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. and has a margin of error of +/- 3.1.