Grim news for Trump on economy, immigration, and crime as Republicans say US headed in wrong direction: polls

Republicans’ outlook on the United States plunged this past month after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, adding to the growing resentment from a majority of Americans about the state of the economy, immigration, foreign policy, and more.

Polling conducted on September 10, the day Kirk was killed, found that Republicans' optimism about the country dropped to 49 percent. That’s more than 20 percentage points down from how Republicans felt in June, according to the AP-NORC poll.

Kirk, a conservative activist, was a notable figure in the Republican Party, especially for young people. His death, the result of a targeted assassination, has left many feeling despondent.

Among Republicans 45 or younger, 61 percent said the country is headed in the wrong direction.

Republicans’ negative view of the U.S. coincides with polling that found Americans mostly unhappy with the way President Donald Trump is handling the economy, immigration, foreign policy, and crime.

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A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll also found 53 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy. A Fox News poll found 52 percent believe Trump has made the economy worse. Another poll, from the Washington Post and Ipsos, found 59 percent disapprove of the president’s approach to the economy.

That’s a slight decrease from April, when 61 percent said they disapproved of Trump’s handling of the economy. That Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted right after the president announced his sweeping tariff policy.

When it comes to Trump’s approach to immigration, a pillar of his presidency, the public is largely opposed to the way the administration has tackled the issue.

Fifty-five percent say they disapprove in the Washington Post/Ipsos poll, and 49 percent said they disapprove in the Reuters/Ipsos poll.

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The issue of immigration is largely partisan, with Republicans more likely to favor Trump’s approach to deportation than Democrats.

Trump sees a large disapproval rating with foreign policy, according to the Washington Post/Ipsos poll. When it comes to the Ukraine-Russia conflict, 60 percent disapprove, while 58 percent disapprove of Trump’s approach to the Israel-Gaza situation.

Despite some of the U.S.'s largest allies moving to recognize Palestinian statehood, Trump has refused and doubled down on support for Israel as it continues an offensive in Gaza that the U.N. classifies as a genocide.

But where the U.S. experiences any unity is Trump’s approach to tackling crime – another one of his major campaign promises.

Although respondents to the Washington Post/Ipsos poll largely disapprove of Trump’s handling of crime, it’s fairly split with 54 percent disapproving and 44 percent approving.

An AP/NORC poll from August found that 53 percent approve of Trump’s handling of crime, while 45 percent disapprove. That was after Trump deployed the National Guard and other federal law enforcement to Washington, D.C., to crack down on youth crime, dismantle homeless encampments, and clean up trash.

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“It’s all the violence, not just political,” Joclyn Yurchak, a 55-year-old from northeast Pennsylvania, told AP. “There’s just so much crime in the country. It’s disgusting. Nobody has respect for anybody anymore. It’s sad.”

While Americans are split on specific policies, across the board, most are feeling grim about the future of the country.

Only one-quarter of Americans believe the country is headed in the right direction, according to the September AP/NORC poll

Among Republicans, women have a more negative outlook, with nearly three-quarters saying they feel badly about the direction of the U.S. Approximately 56 percent of Republican men, though, feel the country is going the wrong way.