Trump gets worst economic ratings ever in new poll as Americans worry about affordability

Geoff Bennett: Welcome to the "News Hour." President Trump is set to address the nation tonight to tout the work of his administration and look ahead to his priorities in the new year. Amna Nawaz: The speech comes as economic concerns continue to be a top priority for Americans. In a new PBS News/NPR/Marist poll, 57 percent of respondents say they disapprove of the job the president is doing on the economy; 36 percent think he's doing a good job. It's the lowest approval rating he's seen on the issue in either of his terms in office. For more insights from the poll, I'm joined now by NPR senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro. Good to see you. Domenico Montanaro, Political Editor, NPR: Hey, great to be with you. Amna Nawaz: Let's talk about the president's handling of the economy. Tell us about that drop in support and who exactly is losing confidence in the president. Domenico Montanaro: I mean, this is a big deal; 36 percent of people approve of the job that the president is doing when it comes to the economy. This is the lowest number that he's ever seen in the Marist poll as far as how he's handling the economy. And this was a relative strength of his in the first - in his first term as president. And this is a big deal because he promised to bring down prices during the 2024 election. It's a big reason, you could argue, that a lot of voters crossed over to vote for him, in particular, Latino voters, who repeatedly said that prices, affordability were huge issues for them as a reason why they voted for Trump. We have seen all year that they have slid away from him, whether it's been in special elections, the elections earlier in November. And in this poll, only 32 percent approve of the job that he's doing on the economy. It's exceedingly low. It's a really bad low point for this president. And it's why you see him now starting to get out on the trail, trying to make the case on the economy, even though he continues to veer into culture issues like immigration. Amna Nawaz: You mentioned those special elections. We have seen affordability become the central message for Democrats so far. Heading into this next midterm election year, is that working? What do Americans think about the handling of the economy? Domenico Montanaro: Well, right here, now we're starting to see that Democrats have a four-point advantage when it comes to which party would be better to handle the economy, 37 to 33 percent. That doesn't seem like a huge advantage, but traditionally Republicans have a bigger advantage on the economy than Democrats do. And it's a 20-point turnaround from 2022, when Republicans had a 16-point edge on this and, of course, in a midterm did much better than Democrats did overall. Amna Nawaz: That's a huge swing. OK, on the issue of affordability, prices...

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