Trump’s Approval Hits 44% as Economic Doom Clouds Part—Wall Street Still Bets on AI Over Democracy

Recession fears fade like a bad meme coin, giving the 45th president a 4-point bump. Pollsters shrug—turns out voters care more about their 401(k)s than constitutional crises.

Meanwhile, hedge funds pivot to ’political stability ETFs’—because nothing says safe haven like betting on volatility.

Americans are still stressed about the economy

Even though things are looking slightly less chaotic, nobody’s exactly throwing a party. The poll shows 69% of Americans still think a recession is possible. That’s lower than the 76% who felt that way back in mid-April, but still high.

Fear over the stock market also dipped—from 67% to 60%—but again, that doesn’t mean confidence has returned. It just means the panic has simmered down a bit.

Trump’s go-to argument lately is that Joe Biden should be blamed for the mess. He keeps pointing fingers at Biden’s handling of the COVID-19-era economy, when inflation ran wild. While prices did cool toward the end of Biden’s presidency, the damage was done. The latest Labor Department figures show inflation in April wasn’t as bad as expected. That gave Trump a bit of an opening, but economists still say his trade policies could hike prices again later this year.

The poll didn’t let Trump off the hook. 59% said that if a recession actually hits this year, it WOULD be his fault. Just 37% said Biden would deserve the blame. So while his approval is improving, the public is still ready to hold him responsible if things go south.

Stagflation warnings hit, but data stays mild

The Federal Reserve, after its May 7 meeting, warned that the country faces a real risk of stagflation—slowing growth plus rising prices—because of Trump’s aggressive tariff policies, which went into effect starting April 2. That warning came fast, just weeks after the new trade moves dropped. But so far, the numbers haven’t backed up the worst-case scenario.

The inflation data out Tuesday shows prices have not surged—at least not yet. Even the Core inflation number, which leaves out food and gas, was lower than many analysts thought it would be. That doesn’t mean everything’s fine, though.

The data only covers a short time after the new tariffs started, and some businesses are still eating the cost instead of passing it to customers. There was also a wave of imported goods early in the year, which helped slow down prices but also dragged GDP growth into negative territory for the first quarter.

Trump’s team paused the so-called “reciprocal” tariffs, signed a temporary deal with China, and closed a new trade agreement with the UK meant to cool off the threat of rising prices and keep consumer spending, which drives the US economy, from collapsing.

Cryptopolitan Academy: Want to grow your money in 2025? Learn how to do it with DeFi in our upcoming webclass. Save Your Spot