The Great Grading Gap

President Donald Trump recently told Politico he'd give the economy an "A+" rating. Then he thought better of it and upgraded his assessment to "A+++++." Voters, it turns out, aren't nearly as generous with their scoring.

A new Morning Consult poll shows Trump holding steady at 45% approval with 52% disapproval, numbers that haven't budged for three consecutive weeks. That -7 net approval rating would translate to a solid F using the traditional school grading system where 60% is passing. So much for extra credit.

The disconnect gets more pronounced when you drill into specifics. Trump recently declared that inflation is essentially gone, but Americans dealing with grocery bills and everyday expenses aren't buying it. A full 71% of voters say reducing consumer prices should be a top priority. The problem? Only 46% believe Trump is actually making it one. That's another failing grade by any measure.

Economic Reality Check

Issues like inflation, consumer prices, and tariffs continue dominating voter concerns nationwide. Trump has dismissed affordability worries as a "Democrat hoax," but the polling data tells a different story. Affordability consistently ranks as a top priority for voters across the political spectrum.

Things get even more interesting when you look at congressional trust. Voters now favor congressional Democrats over Republicans when it comes to handling the economy. That could signal either a desire for change in Congress or growing appetite for more opposition to Trump's economic policies from Capitol Hill.

Trump's trade policy approval has also softened recently. After several weeks of improvement, voters are now two percentage points more likely to disapprove than approve of his trade approach. It's a modest shift, but the reversal matters.

The Stock Market Defense

The White House has repeatedly pointed to strong stock market performance as evidence of economic success. Fair enough—the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500, is up 16.8% year-to-date and trading near all-time highs.

But here's the catch: if the year ended today, that 16.8% gain would rank only sixth best over the past decade. Yes, we hit record highs in 2025, but the pace of gains hasn't matched the momentum of recent years. It's a solid performance that looks less impressive in context.

The bottom line? There's a world of difference between how Trump sees the economy and how voters experience it. When the president hands himself five-plus grades and voters respond with concerns about affording basic necessities, that gap becomes the real story. Whether that perception gap closes could determine how these approval numbers move in the weeks ahead.