Is Donald Trump improving the lives of Americans?

This is a subjective question that reasonable people disagree on based on their values, priorities, and interpretation of evidence. Rather than giving you my opinion, let me lay out what's verifiable and let you weigh it.There's no single objective answer to this—it depends on what metrics you prioritize and who you ask. Here's what the evidence shows across different dimensions:

Economic Data

•Jobs: Hiring has slowed sharply. U.S. job growth slowed from an average of 150,000 per month at the start of 2025 to just 25,000 by August, and revisions showed the economy lost 13,000 jobs in June, the first monthly losses since December 2020, during the pandemic.

•Inflation/Prices: Despite the Trump administration's claims that it would end inflation on "Day 1," inflation remained above the Federal Reserve's target rate of 2 percent throughout 2025. In 2025, electricity prices increased by 2.5 times more than the annual inflation rate—the highest increase since 2014—and natural gas prices rose 56%, despite Trump's promise to cut energy prices in half.

•Tariffs: The average effective tariff rate on goods imports rose from an expected 3 percent to an actual 12.5 percent in 2025 Q4, with studies attributing elevated inflation to tariff policies, adding up to 0.7 percentage points to the consumer price index.

•Wages: By spring 2026, wage growth had outpaced inflation for most of the year, but an April 2026 inflation surge pushed consumer prices above cumulative wage gains, causing real wage growth to dip negative.

Public Opinion (a proxy for how people feel it's going)

Polling has trended increasingly negative on the economy specifically:

•By December 2025, just 33% of U.S. adults approved of how Trump was handling the economy, and by spring 2026, a CNN poll found Trump's economic approval at 30%, with 70% disapproving—the lowest of his political career.

•A CNN poll found 77% of Americans—including a majority of Republicans—say Trump's policies have increased the cost of living in their communities.

•A December 2025 NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found 70% of Americans say things have become too unaffordable and have a dim outlook on the economy.

Areas Where Views Are More Mixed/Positive

•Trump saw a slight improvement in views of his foreign policy handling following diplomatic developments in the Middle East.

•His base remains more supportive: even in weak polls, 77% of people who voted for Trump in 2024 approve of his overall approach.

Bottom Line

The data on jobs, inflation, and household costs since 2025 has trended negatively, and public sentiment—including among many Trump supporters—has grown more pessimistic about the economy specifically. However, opinions on whether this constitutes "improving lives" also depend heavily on non-economic factors (immigration enforcement, foreign policy, judicial appointments, deregulation, etc.) where views diverge sharply along partisan lines. I'd encourage weighing this data against your own priorities rather than looking for a single verdict.

Citations (13)

1senate.govGovernment
Latest Data Shows Trump Policies Causing Prices to Rise, Job Market to Shrink, & Economic Uncertainty to Spread | U.S. Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island
Source excerpt: “U.S. job growth has slowed from an average of 150,000 per month at the start of 2025 to just 25,000 by August, according to analysis from Elsie Peng, ...”
2marketbeat.comNot yet classified
Free Trial
Source excerpt: “Revisions showed the economy lost 13,000 jobs in June, the first monthly losses since December 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. ”
3americanprogress.orgNonprofits and think tanks
A Year in Review: How the Trump Administration’s Economic Policies Made Life Less Affordable for Americans - Center for American Progress
Source excerpt: “Despite the Trump administration’s claims that it would end inflation on “Day 1” of the second term, inflation remained above the Federal Reserve’s ta...”
4americanprogress.orgNonprofits and think tanks
A Year in Review: How the Trump Administration’s Economic Policies Made Life Less Affordable for Americans - Center for American Progress
Source excerpt: “In 2025, electricity prices increased by 2.5 times more than the annual inflation rate, which is the highest annual increase since December 2014.*** A...”
5americanprogress.orgNonprofits and think tanks
The Trump Administration’s Policies Have Hurt Growth, Jobs, and Prices - Center for American Progress
Source excerpt: “For example, in October 2024 S&P assumed that the average effective tariff rate (as a percentage of goods imports) would end 2025 at 3 percent. The ac...”
6americanprogress.orgNonprofits and think tanks
A Year in Review: How the Trump Administration’s Economic Policies Made Life Less Affordable for Americans - Center for American Progress
Source excerpt: “Two notable studies have attributed elevated inflation to the Trump administration’s tariff policies, finding that the tariffs add as much as 0.7 and ...”
7cato.orgNonprofits and think tanks
President Trump’s Approval on Inflation Is Now Worse Than President Biden’s Ever Was | Cato at Liberty Blog
Source excerpt: “Until this month, despite inflation remaining stubbornly above the Fed’s 2 percent target, wage growth had outpaced price increases over the previous ...”
8substack.comBlogs and newsletters
Opinion Today
Source excerpt: “Just 33% of U.S. adults said they approved of how Trump was handling the U.S. economy, the president’s lowest rating on the matter this year. ”
9newsweek.comNews and mediaquality 0.82
Trump Approval Rating on Economy Sinks Across Three New Polls - Newsweek
Source excerpt: “... A CNN poll conducted by SSRS between April 30 and May 4 among 1,499 U.S. adults found Trump’s approval on the economy at 30 percent, with 70 perce...”
10newsweek.comNews and mediaquality 0.82
Trump Approval Rating on Economy Sinks Across Three New Polls - Newsweek
Source excerpt: “The CNN poll found 77 percent of Americans—including a majority of Republicans—say Trump’s policies have increased the cost of living in their communi...”
11npr.orgNews and mediaquality 0.93
Trump's economic approval hits a new low at 36%, poll finds
Source excerpt: “A new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll finds 70% of Americans say things have become too unaffordable and have a dim outlook on the economy and President Trum...”
12cnbc.comNews and mediaquality 0.85
Trump's approval rating on the economy takes hit because of shutdown, inflation, CNBC survey finds
Source excerpt: “The president did have a slight improvement in views of his handling of foreign policy. The survey was conducted Oct. 8-12, just after the announcemen...”
13pbs.orgNews and mediaquality 0.87
Trump's economic approval rating hits new low, poll finds | PBS News
Source excerpt: “Seventy-seven percent of people who voted for Trump in 2024 approve”