New Harvard CAPS Harris poll report Americans are extremely optimistic about America (link: https://harvardharrispoll.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/HHP_May2025_KeyResults.pdf)
Highlights:
- for the first time since COVID, over 50% of Americans think the economy is strong
- 6pt swing upward in people's opinion about their personal finances
- GOP net approval +4%
- Democratic net approval -16%
- US military, police most well liked groups. Hamas, Russia, China the least
- economy and immigration are the most important issues
- plurality believe trump is not meeting expectations, but majority believe he's better than biden
https://www.masslive.com/politics/2025/05/new-poll-reveals-major-shift-on-trumps-economy.html
New poll reveals major shift on Trump’s economy

President Donald Trump’s approval ratings may be underwater, but a new poll shows the Republican president making an important gain.

For the first time since July 2021, a narrow majority of American voters believe the American economy is strong, according to the latest Harvard CAPS/Harris poll.

Fifty-one percent of the poll’s 1,903 registered voter respondents offered that sentiment, compared to 49% who said it’s weak. That puts it right in the poll’s 2.2% margin of error.

That’s still an improvement over last month, when voter sentiment cratered amid the launch of Trump’s trade war and his tariff campaign. In April, 46% of those surveyed said the economy was strong, compared to 54% who said it was weak.

A plurality of respondents, 42%, said they believe the country is on the right track. But the poll also found sharp partisan divisions, with more Republicans (76%) than Democrats (17%) and independents (30%) who said the same thing.