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Poll: Positive views of U.S. economy on the rise

CBS News poll
President Trump's approval rating hits new low 05:03

By Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus, Kabir Khanna and Anthony Salvanto

Americans' views of the economy are the on the rise and as high as they've been in 15 years. But whether President Trump gets approval for his handling of it depends heavily on partisanship. The same is true of whether people feel he is bringing business acumen to government. And overall, Republicans are also more likely to see the President as having accomplished more than his predecessors – while others say he's done less, or the same.

Positive views of the economy have been inching up since last fall, and 64 percent of Americans now say the economy is in good shape, the highest percentage since May 2002. Majorities of all partisan stripes rate the nation's economy positively. Thirty-four percent say the economy is in bad shape.

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Forty-two percent of Americans approve of Mr. Trump's handling of the economy, and that rises to 80 percent among Republicans, independents are more divided, while Democrats (81 percent) decidedly disapprove.

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Among the Republicans and independents who say the economy is in good shape, most approve of President Trump's handling of it.  That's not the case on the Democratic side. Three in four Democrats who rate the economy positively disapprove of how the President is handling it.

On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump touted his skills as a businessman, but over half of Americans (53 percent) overall don't think he is running the government like an efficient business. Republicans (68 percent) do think he is.

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How much the President has accomplished is also viewed through a partisan lens. Nearly half of Republicans (46 percent) say President Trump has accomplished more at this point than most presidents, while most Democrats (71 percent) think he has accomplished less. Independents tend to say less, or the same.

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Views on whether the President is standing up for you are more connected to partisanship and demographics than peoples' pocketbooks. Republicans, and evangelicals are more likely to say he stands up for them, while Democrats, women, and minorities are less likely.

Throughout the 2016 campaign, Americans didn't see either presidential candidate as honest and trustworthy, and as President, Donald Trump continues to be seen by most as less than truthful. Just 35 percent of Americans think he tells the truth all or most of the time. Thirty-four percent think he hardly ever tells the truth, and 29 percent think he tells the truth some of the time.


This poll was conducted by telephone June 15-18, 2017 among a random sample of 1,117 adults nationwide.  Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by SSRS of Media, PA.  Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones.

The poll employed a random digit dial methodology. For the landline sample, a respondent was randomly selected from all adults in the household. For the cell sample, interviews were conducted with the person who answered the phone.

Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish using live interviewers. The data have been weighted to reflect U.S. Census figures on demographic variables.

The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus four percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher and is available by request. The margin of error includes the effects of standard weighting procedures which enlarge sampling error slightly.

This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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