"Trump Neglects Economy by Focusing on Foreign Affairs"... Over Half of U.S. Voters Dissatisfied

53% in WSJ Poll Say Trump Is Fixated on Unnecessary Foreign Issues
58% Hold Him Responsible for Economic Problems

A recent poll found that more than half of American voters believe President Donald Trump is focusing excessively on foreign affairs rather than the economy.

According to an in-house survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) of 1,500 registered voters, 53% of respondents said that President Trump is sacrificing the U.S. economy by concentrating on overseas issues such as Iran and Venezuela. Only 42% said that President Trump is responding to urgent national security threats.

Dissatisfaction with President Trump's economic policies was also notable. 58% of respondents said the Trump administration is responsible for the current state of the economy, while only 31% attributed it to former President Joe Biden's policies. This suggests that President Trump's argument-that he inherited a disastrous economy from the previous administration-is no longer convincing to voters.

The net approval rating by policy area (the percentage of support minus the percentage of disapproval) was minus 17 percentage points for prices and minus 10 percentage points for the overall economy, indicating that negative assessments outweighed positive ones. Issues related to everyday economic life, including inflation, appear to be directly fueling dissatisfaction with President Trump.

In terms of party alignment, the Democratic Party held a slight edge, with 47% of respondents saying they would support the Democratic candidate, 4 percentage points higher than the 43% who backed the Republican candidate. However, the favorability rating for the Democratic Party was lower. The proportion of respondents with a negative view of the Democratic Party was 58%, 19 percentage points higher than those with a positive view (39%). For the Republican Party, the gap between negative and positive views was 11 percentage points.

This survey was conducted from January 8 to 13, 2026, with a margin of error of ±2.5 percentage points.