Is Donald Trump improving the lives of Americans?

Both sidesSays it is contested

This is a debated question — I'll pull recent data on the economy, wages, and public opinion to give you a balanced view.

Whether Americans' lives have improved under President Donald Trump's second term is debated and depends on which indicators and issues are emphasized.

Recent data and polling show mixed results:

Economic indicators - mixed to negative public perception:

•According to FactCheck.org's October 2026 update, in the first 20 months of Trump's second term:

•Job growth became sluggish, with only 776,000 jobs created

•Inflation worsened. Consumer prices are up 5.4% and gasoline is up 38%

•Wages just barely rose faster than inflation, rising 0.94% in real terms since he was sworn in, but they’ve decreased this year

•The economy grew 2.2% in the second quarter, continuing a steady rate of growth

•Median household income rose in 2025, while the official poverty rate declined

•The S&P 500 went up 28.6%

•Violent crime and murder rates in 2025 continued to decline, dropping by the largest percentages since the FBI began collecting nationwide data in 1936

•Inflation details: In the 12 months before Trump took office, the Consumer Price Index rose 3.0%, and in the most recent report the 12-month increase was 3.7%. Over Trump's first 20 months, the CPI went up 5.4%.

•Wages: Average weekly earnings adjusted for inflation rose 0.94% during Trump's first 20 months, but all gains happened in 2025; since then real weekly earnings have gone down 0.87%.

Public opinion polls - largely negative on economy and cost of living:

•An AP-NORC poll in late September 2026 found only 17% of U.S. adults approve of the president’s handling of the cost of living and just 26% approve of his handling of the economy overall. A majority, 65%, blame Trump’s policies for persistently high costs more than factors outside his control.

•Trump's approval on the economy is a 14 percentage point drop from March 2025, just after he took office for the second time.

•A Pew Research Center survey Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2026 found 65% say Trump's economic policies have made things worse, 15% say they have not had much effect, and 19% say they have made conditions better.

•Among Republicans, views are divided: 39% say Trump's policies have made economic conditions better, while 35% say they have made things worse in October 2026, compared to 57% better and 18% worse in January 2026. Overall, just 21% of Americans say economic conditions are excellent or good.

•About 6 in 10 Americans say the country as a whole is "much" or "somewhat" worse off than when he began his second term.

Arguments cited by supporters that lives have improved:

•The White House states since President Trump took office, construction employment has grown by 100,000, including more than 111,000 additional factory construction jobs, and that the administration engineered a "blue-collar boom with lower taxes, more factories, trillions in new investment, and fair trade".

•Other achievements cited by the administration and supporters include securing the border — with apprehensions at the U.S. border with Mexico decreasing about 91% — lower taxes for working families, deregulation, and the decline in violent crime noted above.

Arguments cited by critics that lives have not improved:

•Critics point to rising costs: about half of U.S. adults are now "extremely" or "very" concerned about being able to afford food and fill their tanks, up from 39% in July for gas, and Pew found 73% very concerned about price of food and consumer goods and 74% about gasoline and energy.

•Consumer sentiment remains low, at 46.3 in October, 25.4 points lower than in January 2025 when it was 71.7 as Trump took office.

•Federal government employment has fallen by 328,000, or 10.9%, since he took office, and labor force participation declined from 62.6% to 61.8%.

In summary, objective indicators show some areas of improvement (median income up, stock market up, violent crime down, GDP growth steady) and some areas of deterioration (higher consumer prices and gasoline, sluggish job growth, lower consumer sentiment). Public polling indicates a majority of Americans currently feel economic conditions have worsened and blame administration policies, particularly tariffs and energy costs, while supporters point to border security, deregulation, crime reduction and investment as improvements.

Citations (3)

1factcheck.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Trump's Numbers, October 2026 Update - FactCheck.org
Backs: “Economic indicators - mixed to negative public perception: According to FactCheck.org's October 2026 update, in the first 20 months of Trump's second term:”
statistic, article, neutral. Claim: FactCheck.org October 2026 update on first 20 months: sluggish job growth, inflation up 5.4%, real wages barely up, but median income up and crime down.
2ap.orgNews and mediaquality 0.69
Most Americans blame Trump for high prices as midterms approach, a new AP-NORC poll finds
Backs: “Wages: Average weekly earnings adjusted for inflation rose 0.94% during Trump's first 20 months, but all gains happened in 2025; since then real weekly earnings have gone down 0.87%. Public opinion polls - largely negative on economy and cost of living: An AP-NORC poll in late September 2026 found only 17% of U.S.…”
statistic, article, points to no. Claim: AP-NORC poll: only 17% approve of Trump's handling of cost of living, 26% on economy; 65% blame his policies for high costs.
3pewresearch.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Cost Concerns Dominate as Public’s Economic Ratings Turn More Negative
Backs: “Trump's approval on the economy is a 14 percentage point drop from March 2025, just after he took office for the second time. A Pew Research Center survey Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2026 found 65% say Trump's economic policies have made things worse, 15% say they have not had much effect, and 19% say they have made conditions…”
statistic, article, points to no. Claim: Pew survey: 65% say Trump's economic policies made things worse, 19% better; Republican views divided; concerns about food and gas prices.