A new NBC News poll showing weaker approval for President Donald Trump on inflation than his overall job performance highlights the central political challenge facing Republicans ahead of the midterm elections, polling analyst Patrick Allocco told Newsmax on Monday.
The survey, taken Feb. 27-March 3, of 1,000 registered voters found Trump with a 44% overall job approval rating, but only 36% approved of his handling of inflation and the cost of living, while 62% disapproved. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Allocco, founder of the Zoose Political Index, said the gap underscores the continued importance of economic concerns for voters.
"That tells me that the economy is still the president's biggest challenge," Allocco said on "Finnerty."
Allocco pointed to recent market turbulence and price pressures as factors keeping voters focused on their finances.
"Last week, we saw a volatility in jobs, gas prices, inflation, and the stock market," he said. "And at the end of the day, voters vote their wallets. And the kitchen table affordability issue is still the main issue dominating the midterms."
The NBC poll also ranked inflation and the cost of living as the top issue facing the country, cited by 26% of voters as their primary concern and 48% when combined with second-choice responses.
Another result in the survey listed "threats to democracy" as a major issue. Allocco dismissed that as a political messaging theme rather than a core voter priority.
"Threats to democracy is a messaging phrase, not a kitchen table issue," he said. "And if you look at the poll closely, the answers mostly mirror the president's approval numbers."
Allocco pointed to immigration in the survey as an example of the partisan alignment.
"Immigration, they have at 44% approve, 54% disapprove. The president's overall approval rating in the poll is 44%," he said. "That tells you voters are responding through a partisan lens, not ranking real-world concerns."
Allocco also addressed how the recent conflict involving Iran could affect the political landscape, noting that geopolitical shocks often ripple through the economy.
"Wars create instant market shocks, oil spikes, stocks fall, gas rises," he said. "But if investors believe the conflict stays limited, those economic reactions usually settle faster than people expect."
Despite past historical patterns in which wartime boosted presidential approval ratings, Allocco said modern political polarization makes such effects unlikely.
"The president knows a war today doesn't create the kind of approval bump it once did," he said. "Back in the Bush days, approvals could jump into the 80s or even 90s. Today's politics, wars don't change voters. They simply reinforce the two Americas that already exist."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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