Polls show possible economic weak spots for Trump

A pair of polls released Monday showed that many Americans don’t think they are benefiting from the bustling economy, revealing weak spots for President Trump in public opinion despite strong economic growth. 

A Monmouth University Poll found that more than half of Americans don’t think they’ve been substantially helped by the strong macroeconomic trends, with 27 percent saying they haven’t benefited much and another 27 percent saying they haven’t benefited at all.

{mosads}Just 12 percent said the strong economy has helped their family a great deal.

Respondents who said they’ve seen benefits were more likely to be wealthy, with 58 percent of those earning over $100,000 saying they’ve benefited and just 34 percent of those earning under $50,000 saying the same.

Of those surveyed, 58 percent said Trump’s policies were skewed toward wealthy families, while just 14 percent said poor families have seen benefits.

“There just isn’t a sense that Donald Trump has come to the rescue of the middle class. He has his staunch defenders, but there hasn’t been any clear success in winning over the public on bread-and-butter issues,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.

The economy grew at a strong 3.4 percent in the first quarter of 2019, and unemployment was stable at 3.8 percent.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll found similar results, showing that 62 percent of people think the economic system mainly benefits those in power, with just 34 percent saying it benefits all people. 

The idea that the economic system is “rigged” in favor of the powerful has been a central theme in the Democratic presidential campaigns of Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

Still, there was some good economy-related news for Trump in the poll.

Some 39 percent said Trump’s handling of the economy made them more likely to support him for reelection, more than the 32 percent who said they were more likely to oppose him on that issue. 

A full quarter of respondents said Trump’s handling of the economy would not be a factor in their vote. 

The Monmouth University Poll was conducted by telephone from April 11 to April 15 with 801 U.S. adults and had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points. The Washington Post-ABC News poll was conducted from April 22 to April 25 with a random national sample of 1,001 adults and also had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.