Five months into his second term, Donald Trump’s economic agenda is raising prices, slowing consumer spending, and contracting American industry. Is this Trump’s so-called “golden age” of America? While experts sound the alarm on America’s international decline, American consumers are cutting back on discretionary spending amid rising prices, and businesses are stockpiling goods to try to survive Trump’s chaos. It’s no surprise that Americans are overwhelmingly rejecting Trump’s billionaire-first agenda. 

Here’s a look at the latest ways Trump’s economic agenda is hurting Americans: 

Navigator: “Americans Continue to Disapprove of Trump and His Handling of the Economy” 

• “[Americans] disapprove of [Trump’s] handling of the economy (41 percent approve – 57 percent disapprove).” 

• “Among independents, both the President’s overall approval and economic approval are underwater by more than 30 points (overall; 28 percent approve – 63 percent disapprove, economic; 27 percent approve – 63 percent disapprove), the lowest it’s been since his inauguration in January” 

• “Less than a third of Americans express favorability towards tariffs (28 percent), and opposition to Trump’s tariff plan continues to grow, increasing from 52 percent to 57 percent since March.” 

• “70 percent of Americans rate today’s economy negatively and a majority say it’s only going to get worse (54 percent).”

Axios: “Tariffs drive some health plans to hike premiums”

• “A handful of health insurers … have already explicitly told state regulators that tariffs are forcing plans to raise enrollee premiums more than they otherwise would next year …” 

Wall Street Journal: “Tariffs Test Sam’s Club Strategy of Keeping Prices as Low as Possible” 

• “Sam’s Club is evaluating which products it will raise prices on to offset higher costs from the Trump administration’s new tariffs …” 

United States Census Bureau: “Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services”

• “Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for May 2025, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $715.4 billion, down 0.9 percent … from the previous month …” 

• “Retail trade sales were down 0.9 percent … from April 2025 …” 

Bloomberg: “US Retail Sales Drop for a Second Month, Dragged Down by Cars” 

• “[T]he figures suggest consumers are now pulling back spending. While the duties so far haven’t boosted US inflation, consumer sentiment is still shaky and household finances have worsened amid a persistent rise in the cost of living and high interest rates.” 

• “A poll conducted for Bloomberg News last month showed three in five respondents reported cutting back due to concerns around a potential recession, largely on services like dining out and entertainment.” 

CNN: “Shipping chaos: Inside the industry at the frontlines of the US-China trade war” 

• “US firms have been trying to stockpile goods during the truce period, sending Chinese factories into overdrive to meet demand and pushing shipping companies to deliver as much as possible in the current window.” 

• “On the US side, some companies that rely on Chinese imports are struggling to stay afloat.” 

• “The toy industry has been hit particularly hard, because nearly 80% of all toys sold in the US are made in China, according to the US Toy Association.” 

Bloomberg: “New York state factory activity shrank in June by more than projected as orders and shipments contracted” 

• “The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general business conditions index declined nearly 7 points to minus 16, marking a fourth straight month of contraction, data showed Monday.” 

• “Manufacturing has struggled against a backdrop of rising input prices and trade policy uncertainty.” 

Bloomberg: “Many Exporters No Longer Want Dollars, US Bank Executive Says” 

• “[F]oreign counterparties no longer want to be paid in dollars.” 

• “[T]hey ask for settlement in euros, Chinese renminbi, the Mexican peso and the Canadian dollar, looking to limit their exposure to further swings in the greenback.” 

• “[T]he [US dollar] is still about 8% lower this year against a basket of other currencies.” 

• “[T]he [US dollar] accounted for nearly all export invoices … from 1999 to 2019, … In the Asia Pacific region, that figure stood at about 75%.” 

Bloomberg: “US Stock Market’s Outperformance Is Over, BofA Survey Shows” 

• “[I]nvestors increasingly see America’s market dominance as coming to an end.” 

• “54% of asset managers expect international stocks to be the top asset class, while 23% picked US stocks, according to the survey.” 

• “The responses reflect the popularity of the ‘Sell America’ trade that’s taken hold as President Donald Trump hikes tariffs and pushes legislation that would add an estimated $2.4 trillion to the budget deficit over a decade.” 

• “When asked about the impact of Trump’s spending bill, 59% of investors predicted no boost to US economic activity in the next six months.”