Six in 10 Americans say they feel better off after first 3 years of Trump, poll says

[Recursion]

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/02/13/gallup-poll-says-6-10-americans-feel-better-off-3-years-after-trump/4747228002/

A Gallup poll has encouraging news for President Donald Trump as his battle for reelection heats up: Six in 10 Americans say they are better off than they were three years ago when he took office, and about the same number credit him for the improvement.

No other incumbent president in the past three decades has enjoyed such a high percentage of people saying they feel better about their situation. In 2012, when President Barack Obama was in the White House, 45% of Americans told Gallup they were better off than they were three years ago. In 2004, 1996 and 1992, the number was 50%.

In the latest survey, 61% say they are better off, 36% say they're not and 3% say they're about the same.

A strong majority of Americans (62%) say Trump should get credit for improving the economy. Thirty-seven percent say he deserves a "great deal" of credit, and 25% say he deserves a "fair amount." Nineteen percent say he should not take much credit, and 18% say he deserves none at all.

Interestingly, despite all this "The country is on the wrong track" polls very high: 54-39 in the RCP average. This needs to be our messaging focus.

[elleng]

1. gallup

[Wounded Bear]

24. Yeah, Gallup has been going full Rassmussen lately...nt

[DFW]

2. I am only better off in terms of net worth. That is SO far from the whole story, it's laughable.

OK, so I lucked out. My brother is about the same, and my sister is worse off. My country is FAR worse off in terms of environmental damage, women's (especially) health care, foreign policy (don't even get me started!), education, budget deficit and rural poverty.

Of course, people watch Fox Noise and hear that they are doing fantastically, and thus believe they in fact are.

[essme]

3. 6 out of 10 are still enjoying the Obama economy. The real economic

chickens have not come home to roost yet.

Here in NC, we have seen two small chain grocery stores go out of business (The Home Economist, and Earthfare), chain stores such as The World Market are closing.

Car and student loans are in default in record numbers. House prices are starting to drop, and I mean in "hot" markets. Boomers with money are starting to get sick, and move into nursing homes- their children do NOT have the same standard of living, and will not be replacing them in the new economy.

Many have savings in portfolios tied to the DOW-- and that sure as hell isn't going to stay where it is.

This economy is a joke. Those 45%ers need to wake up.

[Squinch]

6. This is true but Filthy Donnie will get the credit in most of their minds.

Because republicans were able to vilify the economy when Obama was in office, and they have taken credit for it since.

And we have put out no counter message.

[Arkansas Granny]

8. I know several people who refuse to admit that the economy was already on an upward

curve when Trump took office.

[Wounded Bear]

25. There definitely more than "several" out there...

[Recursion]

35. Unfortunately we ran 2016 as if it weren't

I think that was a huge mistake.

[TwilightZone]

28. The further we get from the Obama admin, the harder it's going to be

to convince people of that. It's true, of course, but the voting public tends to have a very short memory and as time passes, they'll slowly give Trump more credit.

Perception, unfortunately, is often more important or effective than reality.

[ellie]

85. I know.

A recession is coming. I was laid off last August and I have not been able to find another job, even in this "great" job market. I am now looking for anything in a recession-proof industry.

[rpannier]

5. Messaging

il douche has been beating the drum about how great the economy is with little push back from the Democrats
When the economy first started recovering and grew during Obama's presidency, trumpolini pushed back hard claiming the numbers were faked, etc
Democrats need to push hard against the wanna-be oompa loompa's bogus claims

[Squinch]

7. Lol! I wrote my reply to the above message before I read yours.

And yes. We need to push back but we never do.

[ck4829]

9. And yet the number of uninsured people is picking up, "despite the strong economy"

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212987517

[duforsure]

10. Polls under trump are useless

After hearing Cohen's claims they were corrupting them, and this and others can be manipulated to show what they want, when the money is right. I also know some just tell them BS to damage their polls on purpose.

[ck4829]

11. +1. Yes, how are people REALLY doing? Empirically doing?

Let's see here:
* The number of uninsured people has gone up, despite the strong economy
* Number of Americans who are dealing with financial instability or do not have enough money in case something happens has not gone down in these three years, despite the strong economy
* Cost of living continues to rise, even for people with more money in pockets, it doesn't mean much if costs rise as well, this is happening, despite the strong economy
* US homeless student population has reached the highest in a decade, despite the strong economy
* A record number of Americans are behind are car payments, despite the strong economy

There is a real and almost palpable disconnect here.

It's, should I say it, cult-like. We're SUPPOSED to be giddy and starry-eyed about this "strong economy"... don't believe your bills and late payments, don't believe that businesses are being closed, don't believe statistics and information just like I wasn't supposed to believe my hunger pangs the night I went to bed hungry while people around me were excited about the "strongest economy ever" just because the Dow was at a record high.

[klook]

34. Great post - would make an excellent OP. (nt)

[Recursion]

46. Which of those rates, rather than numbers, have gone up?

The number of X going up over a time period doesn't really say much other than that the population keeps growing.

[OnDoutside]

12. I had a conversation with a Trumper last night.

We're on a project team, and it was his first time outside the US. In the course of the conversation he said he doesn't trust Fox or CNN, and gets a lot of his news from BBC America. Naturally I was hopeful about the conversation, but then he turned to his American colleague and said he voted for Trump, and would do so again ! What an asshole. I almost said, you watch BBC, but do you understand what they are saying ? However my interaction with him previously, confirmed my suspicion that yes, he was an asshole.

[sinkingfeeling]

13. What the hell is in the water? I have never felt so badly in

my life! I detest living day to day, not knowing what hateful thing is going to happen. I have lost confidence in the police, ICE, DOJ, SCOTUS, DOS, CIA, FBI, IRS, and most other US government agencies. I have no faith in our elections nor that our democracy will survive.

If 60% of Americans only concerned with the money, it's hopeless.

[hamsterjill]

14. +1

n/t

[llmart]

18. "If 60% of Americans only concerned with the money, it's hopeless."

There's no "if" about it. Americans rate and judge our country and their own personal lives by one metric only and that's money and what they "own".

If we could change just one thing about our culture, it would be to stop putting money above the other more important measures of a country's success - health of our citizens, less income inequality, happiness, more kindness towards others, caring for the environment - well, you get my drift. I want to be more like Bhutan.

[The Genealogist]

15. I am FINANCIALLY better off now than I was before trump, and it has NOTHING to do with him.

I work in the medical field. When Trump took over I was a medical biller. My employer needed more medical coders. They sent me to school to be one. This resulted in a higher rate of pay. This would have happened whether Trump was president or not.

In MANY ways my life is far worse due to this monster. A big issue is where he will direct his capricious wrath next. I am a gay man. When will he decide to start a full onslaught against LBGTQI+ Americans? It is not a matter of if, but when. He will have to pay back the christofascists on this issue someday for their support.

The lives of millions of others are worse in so many ways, like the children he gleefully locks up in cages. He has to go this November.

[Recursion]

48. Americans always imagine the President has power over the economy that he doesn't

It's silly and stupid but it's a fact of politics

[Generic Brad]

16. Mixed feelings on that here

The company I had spent decades with working my way up the ladder unceremoniously threw me to the curb a year and a half after they promoted and moved me cross country. So I found myself in Kansas with no connections or job prospects and my wife had just retired early from her career to join me so we had a major reduction in income. It was terrifying. I have since landed a job in Tennessee for substantially lower status and pay in a different industry, but that is offset by rewarding work, superior benefits, crazy low taxes, reduced job stress (the company I work for employs fewer people than I managed at my last gig), and a welcoming community with great neighbors and tons of volunteer opportunities.

My life is better than it has been in a long time in so many ways but to get there I had to really change my perspective on a lot of things.

[pansypoo53219]

17. WHERE are they finding these people? just the burbs?

[2naSalit]

27. Repug voter registration roll. ...nt

[WhiskeyGrinder]

19. "Feeling better off" and "country is on the wrong track" is a pretty tough needle to thread.

[GoCubsGo]

20. Let me guess...

Another poll where 60% of those polled are Republican?

[Joinfortmill]

21. So much is wrong with this

First: comparing Obama to Trump is like comparing Ghandi to Hitler; it's an abomination. Obama took office in the midst of a national emergency when our financial institutions were in free-fall . Trump took office riding the tail of Obama's excellent economy, built with a lot of sweat equity and just plain smarts.

Second: folks invested in the stock market are still doing well, thanks to Obama. The rest of the folks, not so much.

Third: do you see a trend here?

To wrap up: Trump is riding on the coat-tails of one of the greatest presidents we've ever had, Obama. So please, dump this poll where it belongs - in the trash.

[ego_nation]

22. Ignorance and want

Dickens knew what he was writing.

[dawg]

23. Somewhat troubling, but we need to remember that around 35% of the country ...

would automatically respond "yes" to that question without regard to their actual personal situation. It's just too politically charged a question, and his "base" loves him too much to not be reflexively supportive.

The economy continues to be objectively good, but, if anything, the pace of improvement has slowed since Trump took office. Market returns are likewise. 2019 blew my stocks through the ceiling, but 2018 was the first negative year for me since the Great Recession.

[Turbineguy]

26. Same thing happened

when Hitler ran Germany.

For a while anyway.

[smirkymonkey]

29. No, just no.

I don't believe that. Like they do on Bill Maher's show, I can't prove it, but I know it isn't true. We are being gaslighted from every angle.

[Recursion]

45. We can pretend the economy is bad all we want, but Trump won't play along

Trump pretended the economy was bad in 2016 and we played along because it was ideologically important to some of us to do so, and it cost us the election. Trump isn't going to hand us that gift.

[smirkymonkey]

56. Sure, the stock market is doing well, but that is a false measure of the economy.

It's only doing well because of the massive tax breaks that allowed corporations to buy back stock therefore raising the price per share. Manufacturing is going down the tubes, retail outlets are collapsing, farms are suffering, people are still living paycheck to paycheck and having to work harder and longer to survive.

The myth of a robust economy is just that - a myth. It's bullshit. We are going downhill and they are trying to remove our safety backups from under us. The rich are getting richer and the middle class and poor are getting squeezed. This is not a great economy for the vast majority of us.

[Recursion]

57. Wage growth over the past five years has been the fastest in history

The poverty rate is the lowest it's been in the 21st century, and is approaching its all time record low from the early 1970s.

Neither manufacturing nor retail are magical; those jobs are being replaced by generally higher-paying jobs in other sectors, which is why unemployment is literally the lowest it has ever been.

The only way we could gaslight the public into believing the economy is bad is if Trump conceded that point like we did to him in 2016. And he won't. We aren't going to win with an economic plan because public confidence in the economy is the highest it's been since the late 1990s, and even if a recession started tomorrow that usually takes 12 months to move the public opinion needle so it would be too late.

Our candidate, whoever she winds up being, needs a big "It's Not The Economy, Stupid" sign in her campaign HQ.

[smirkymonkey]

58. Uh, not really..

https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/12/should-donald-trump-be-bragging-about-wage-growth/



It hasn't been as bad as it could be, but his policies haven't really had an impact yet. He's still riding on Obama's coattails. Give it another two years and we are going to see the real impact of his governance. And I also don't believe that lost jobs are being replaced by higher paying jobs in other sectors.

They are in fact being replaced by lower paying jobs in other sectors. You don't live in the US, do you? Every single person I know here who has had to look for work after losing a job has found that they cannot find a position where they can make their former salary unless they are at the very high end of the totem pole.

[Recursion]

59. Yes it has, look at that chart you posted

"The past 5 years"

The slowing of the wage growth is from inflation due to tariffs, but unfortunately that takes longer for people to "see".

[Recursion]

60. 2015 was the strongest single-year real wage growth in US history

Strong enough that it still impacts the 5-year window.

What enrages me, still, is that we refused to run the 2016 campaign as if that were the case. It was so ideologically important to some people to say that our economy was "broken" and "terrible" that we simply abandoned what was the best economic record any candidate had ever had to run on.

[smirkymonkey]

62. And who was president in 2015?

It seems to me that you are saying that Trump is responsible for creating a better economy and I simply do not see that it's true. It is starting to tank and it will eventually go into a recession. There is a lag, but eventually he is going to drive it into the ground. He has been lucky, that is all. Whose side are you on anyway?

[Recursion]

64. How on earth did you get that idea?

It seems to me that you are saying that Trump is responsible for creating a better economy

Where on earth did you get that ridiculous idea? Read my post again.

[uponit7771]

68. The economy is worse than it was under Obama

[CanonRay]

30. I find this not believable

I don't know anyone who is better off.

[Recursion]

44. That's almost certainly not true (nt)

[Greybnk48]

31. It's is all the Gannett Papers /USA Today.

I saw it in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/posted on Facebook. I reported it as spam and blocked all articles from the right wing rag.

[Takket]

32. i am better off, because i earned it.........

i was lucky enough to land a new job with higher pay because someone else retired, and then i got a promotion two years later because i worked my butt off for it. none of that had anything to do with any politician. at the same time i realize i could be better off if not for horrible policies that have left me paying for tariffs, a continually broken medical system that puts financial strain on us every year, and a significant tax burden that i must shoulder paying an astronomically higher % of my personal wealth every year than the top 1% because of reverse-robin hood tax laws that redistribute wealth to those that need it least.

[Yavin4]

33. The Fed. The Fed. The Fed. The Fed. The Federal Reserve Board. The Federal Reserve Board.

The Federal Reserve Board. The Federal Reserve Board. The Federal Reserve Board. The Federal Reserve Board. The Federal Reserve Board. The Federal Reserve Board.


Trump has nothing to do with the economy. Cheap money boosts consumption which boosts the economy. The downside to this is inflation. Things get more and more expensive every year. Sure, you can get a job, but you cannot afford anything.

I live in NYC. There are plenty of jobs here. Plenty. Most of them won't pay you to live here. So, if you can invent some kind of a Star Trek transporter where you can live in Kansas and work in NYC, you're all set.

[smirkymonkey]

61. Thank YOU!

[Midnight Writer]

36. Honestly, in financial terms, I am better off. Same as in any four year period since 1946.

Started off poor, and slowly and steadily built wealth right to this day. More luck than pluck, but my Mother did teach me to NEVER BORROW money, unless it is for an asset (such as a home) that will appreciate.

My status today? I ain't rich, but I ain't worried.

I don't credit Trump at all. If he had his way, I would be totally screwed.

[Recursion]

43. I think that's very important: it's true for most people over most 4 year periods

If robots took the survey and just looked at their actual finances the number would nearly always be higher.

[MiniMe]

37. I'm better off than I was, NOT because of Rump

My inveestment accounts have increased by at least 25-40%. I am just lucky that I have investment accounts, Thanks Mom and Dad.

[Recursion]

42. So here's where I call out DU's bubble: most of the country is

I know it's ideologically impossible for some people here to admit that the economy is good, but it is. It was in 2016, too, but we ran against our own economy, stupidly. Trump's not going to make that same mistake.

[MiniMe]

49. The economy is fine for some people

But it isn't great for a lot of people. If I didn't have investments in the market, I don't know that I'd feel like the economy was doing well. And opinions could change once tRump cuts medicare, medicaid, and social security.

[Recursion]

50. Most of the wage gains over the past 5 years have been for the poorest two fifths of Americans

Most of the reduction in unemployment has too.

Median real incomes for all races have now passed their previous high point from 2008.

The poverty rate is the lowest it has been since the late 1990s, and is closing in on the all-time record from the early 1970s.

Reducing poverty also makes rich people richer, but the fact that rich people are also getting richer isn't itself a problem as long as poverty is falling.

[radius777]

63. Healthcare costs, tuition, housing etc etc all eat up hollow 'gains'

of any McJobs people now have, many working two or more jobs to make ends meet.

Trump wants to have it both ways - that he's getting votes due to 'economic anxiety' but the 'economy is great' ... which is it.

The economy is great on paper and for those at the top, but for most, the economy sucks, as the cost of living - healthcare, transportation, college loans, mortgages etc out of control. Many people did not recover from the housing bubble or the Great Recession, and simply learned to make do with less. There is rising homelesness and drug addiction - basically hopelesness - in many areas across the country. There are many who can't retire and must work until they drop dead.

After all, Dems did win back the House by speaking to bread and butter economic issues like healthcare.

[Recursion]

65. Look up what "real wages" means, then try again (nt)

[betsuni]

38. Because the right-wing media bubble told them everything was terrible under Obama

and that under Trump everything is fantastic.

[mfcorey1]

39. I do not believe it. If you poll the rich, those are the results you get.

[Recursion]

41. 49% of those in low-income households say they are better off

Which makes sense because lower incomes are where the wage gains of the past 5 years or so have been concentrated.

[ooky]

40. This sounds like its heavily weighted with Magats.

"I 'feel' better off" is a viewpoint I have often heard expressed directly from the mouths of magats ever since the Fraud moved into the White House. It's how they talk.

[marlakay]

47. Financially maybe a bit better

But mental health, stress, quality of life, fear, unable to relax, all much worse.

I don’t feel safe with him in office, try asking that question to people...how does it make you feel knowing Trump has control of nukes? Like to see that answer!

[herding cats]

51. We need to be realistic about this.

I'm in good shape financially right now, too. I'm not much better off, but I'm on par for any other 3 year period in my adult life. Honestly, the removal of the preexisting condition clause in health insurance was the greatest boon to me of my lifetime. I know I have Democrat's, and the late John McCain (oddly) to thank for that still being there, but most people on the street don't know what we do.

It's my ethical and ideological standing that's been gut punched, but my monies are ok. Anyone else not plugged in won't know what we know. Which is why we can't assume beating Trump is a shoo-in. It's just not. It's going to be a difficult race.

[Recursion]

52. Bingo. In 2016 we won voters concerned about the economy by 12 points

It's just that there weren't nearly enough of them, and we lost the larger group whose chief concern was immgration 75-25. There will probably be fewer in 2020. We need to find other things people care about. The "right track/wrong track" numbers suggest we can do that.

[John Fante]

53. Outlier poll. If Trump were truly getting this much credit for

the economy, his overall approval rating would be MUCH higher and he'd be a shoo-in for re-election. It's not and he isn't.

[Recursion]

54. IDK. Since 2016 politics seem to have become decoupled from the economy

There weren't very many voters in 2016 who listed the economy as their chief concern (we won them handily). There probably won't be this year, either.

Maybe whoever gets the nom needs a big "It's No Longer The Economy, Stupid" sign?

[uponit7771]

71. Yes because even Trumpers nderstand it was Obama not Trump

.... The decoupling is the credit to Trump because people understand his tax breaks for the rich did little for the middle class

[uponit7771]

70. THIS !!! People aren't giving from the credit because they know he did little for it

[Thekaspervote]

55. Gallup isn't the only one talking about 4 more years of dotard

Moody analytics has predicted every prez race correctly minus 16.
The betting market preditit.org
Another highly reputable poll used by businesses and rarely seen outside of the business world isidewith.com

So... unless the Dems change their tune about who is currently favored as the nominee ...Gallup is right

[kentuck]

66. I wonder how much Trump paid for that poll?

He probably wanted them to say 70% but it may have sounded a little unbelievable?

[Recursion]

67. Burying your head in the sand won't help

The economy is good. It's a good time to be working. We're going to get crushed if we run on big fundamental economic changes.

[uponit7771]

69. What were Obama's better off numbers?

[Recursion]

72. 45 in 2012, 52 in 2016

It's why it broke so many playbooks that Trump could run a "change" election: if that number is higher than 50 the incumbent party is supposed to be a shoe-in. But we ran against our own economy.

[uponit7771]

75. Yep, I figured the Better Off numbers from Gallup weren't as big a factor in the last 3 elections

[bullwinkle428]

73. NPR reported last week that a big driver in the upward growth of wages at the

low end of the scale has been the minimum wage increases on the part of several states and large cities. Never mind the fact that these were pushed though exclusively by Democrats, and are completely antithetical to everything that Trump and Republicans believe, but are more than happy to take credit for the effects of these policies.

It's almost as if the Democrats become a victim of their own success on this issue, but if allows workers at the low end of the wage scale to live slightly more comfortably, I can't complain much at all.

[Recursion]

74. Yup

Absolutely. Note that several states which went resoundingly red in 2016 also passed minimum wage hikes by ballot initiative.

Voters rarely make much sense.

[uponit7771]

76. +1, Few are giving Trump credit for the economy

[Recursion]

79. 62% give him at least some credit

That's the worse news.

[uponit7771]

80. I don't see that in the Gallop poll, the last one I saw was from Dec 19 last year

[Recursion]

81. Check out the 4th paragraph I quoted in the OP

62% say he deserves some or a lot of credit for the economy, basically identical to the percentage that say they are doing better.

[andym]

82. Trump's campaign will attempt to amplify these feelings as much as possible. nt.

[ck4829]

83. Good to know

[DeminPennswoods]

77. Would answer "yes" to this question, but

I am definitely not voting for Trump.

[underpants]

78. Me too. A lot of people also want to believe they are doing better

It’s like exit polls, people answer “morals” regardless of their actual motivating factor in voting.

I started at an organization in 2013. I’ve gotten 5 raises and three different positions. I’ve also been subject to internal poaching formally and informally which accounted for several of the raises. I’m good at what I do and I have a good attitude - that goes a long way.

[Chainfire]

84. sugar high

We are all on a sugar high brought to us by smoke, mirrors and borrowed money. Of course it is scheduled for a correction as soon as the Democrats regain power so that they can be blamed for not fixing a crashed economy overnight. Sound familiar?

If someone asked me if I am better off than I was four years ago, although I have not suffered financially, the answer would be a strong Hell NO. I am watching the country I love being dismantled and it is breaking my heart.

[Rhiannon12866]

89. I got hit with significant taxes for the first time in my life (I've always gotten a small refund)

But I share your feelings, these really are frightening times. Welcome to DU, we're glad to have you with us!

[shanti]

86. Yeah, I'm better off now

but it has zilch to do with the orange POS. It just so happens that I get my SS now, so things are better. I'd be doing better regardless of whoever was in office.

[rockfordfile]

87. This is right-wing propaganda. Gallup have already been caught pushing trump propganda

They tried this in 2018. Gallup is a right-wing pollster.

[BigDemVoter]

88. This sure contradicts every other poll and every reliable statistician I've read. , .

But I guess nightmares can be true. . .

[Recursion]

90. What are you talking about?

Every economic fundamental we measure is at or near a record good.

[Vivienne235729]

91. Where the hell did they go to get their sample? Indiana? Did they ask all the millionaires?

Bc they're the only ones who benefited after that bs tax bill. Everyone, regardless of political orientation, has complained about inflation. NO ONE I know is better off.