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Trump's Approval Rating Ticks Lower, Economic Concerns Weigh, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s approval rating ticked slightly lower this week to 42%, matching the lowest level of his new term as Americans kept a dour view of his handling of the U.S. economy, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The results of the three-day poll, which concluded on Sunday, showed a marginal dip from a week earlier when a Reuters/Ipsos survey showed 44% of Americans approved of the job Trump was doing as president. The poll has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

While low by historical standards, Trump’s popularity remains higher than it was for much of his first term as president and is also stronger than what his Democrat predecessor Joe Biden had during the second half of his 2021-2025 term.

Trump’s high point remains his 47% rating in the hours after his return to the White House in January. His approval has shown little movement in recent weeks. Just 39% of respondents in the poll said Trump was doing a good job managing the U.S. economy, unchanged from a week earlier.

Trump won the 2024 presidential election on a promise to bring about a golden age for the U.S. economy, but his aggressive measures to reshape global commerce - including levying heavy tariffs on major trading partners - have increased the risks of recession, economists say.

Inflation rates in the United States soared under Biden but have been trending lower for several years. Some 33% of respondents in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll gave Trump a thumbs up on how he was managing the cost of living, up from 31% a week earlier.

Many economists, however, expect inflation will heat back up as tariffs put pressure on the profits of importers. Trump on Saturday urged Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, to “eat the tariffs” instead of blaming them for the retailer’s increased prices. He has urged the country’s independent central bank, the Federal Reserve, to lower interest rates, but central bankers have also expressed worry over the prospects of higher inflation.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll, carried out online and nationwide, surveyed 1,024 U.S. adults May 16-18.