Economic frustrations chip away at Trump’s rural support: Survey

President Trump’s approval ratings among rural voters are taking a hit as concerns mount about rising living costs across the country, according to survey results published Wednesday.

While about half of respondents in the new KFF/Associated Press poll expressed support for the president’s overall job performance, 57 percent said they disapproved of how Trump has handled economic issues.

The survey’s respondents were 54 percent Republican, 32 percent Democrats and 10 percent independent voters. Their evaluation of Trump’s economic performance reflected a partisan split on this issue, with 96 percent of Democrats opposing the president’s handling of the U.S. economy compared to 27 percent of Republicans

Nearly 70 percent of all poll participants ranked cost of living as an “extremely important” issue ahead of November’s elections, followed closely behind by concerns about health care and fraud in government programs.

Additionally, 45 percent of Democrat and independent rural voters rated the cost-of-living conditions in their communities as “poor,” compared to 26 percent of Republican voters living in these areas.

Of these Republican voters, supporters of Trump’s MAGA movement were 7 points more likely than non-MAGA supporters to describe living costs as “good.”

The Trump administration has for months fielded public criticism about rising costs tied to U.S.’s ongoing military operations against Iran. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz during this monthslong conflict has driven up energy prices globally and fuel costs domestically.

Sixty-seven percent of survey respondents said they were either “very” or “somewhat” worried about gas prices or “other transportation costs.” Last week, the president pushed back against concerns about rising fuel costs, calling it “a very inexpensive price to pay for what we’ve done.”

The poll also asked rural voters about opportunities for good paying jobs in the areas in which they live.

Forty-four percent of respondents said good paying job opportunities have declined in their communities in the past five years, while 17 percent said they have increased and 40 percent said they are “about the same.”

The KFF/AP poll was conducted among 2,241 U.S. adults registered to vote in rural parts of the country between Aug. 12 and 24 with a margin of error of approximately 3 percentage points.