More than 70% of Americans say their personal finances haven’t improved since Donald Trump won the presidential election four years ago.
According to the survey, released in June by Bankrate.com, 26% of respondents believe their finances improved since Trump moved into the White House in 2017. Another 25% said their finances have gotten worse while 40% said their finances have not changed.
Those who say their finances have improved over the last four years are mostly male, white, college graduates, baby boomers, and individuals earning $80,000 or more.
“Despite the president’s rhetoric about his superior handling of the economy, Americans are very much divided as to whether they’d be better off with him still at the helm,” Mark Hamrick, Bankrate.com senior economic analyst told FOX Business
. “No matter which candidate is sitting in the White House after Inauguration Day in 2021, significant economic challenges will persist.”The survey also shows the country is divided over which presidential candidate would be better for their personal finances in the next year as the coronavirus pandemic continues and the economic recession continues to get worse for states.
Thirty-five percent of respondents said Trump’s reelection will be best for their finances, while 39% said their finances will improve under Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. One in 6 respondents say they are unsure which candidate will improve their finances.
“The severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic downturn have shaken-up everyday lives and the political landscape with it,” Hamrick said, noting about 13% of respondents think their finances could actually deteriorate next year, but the majority — 39% — anticipate things staying the same.
“That wouldn’t tend to reflect well on any incumbent president, providing Joe Biden an opportunity,” Hamrick added.
The economy ran smoothly under the first three years of Trump’s first term, but the coronavirus and Trump’s refusal to acknowledge its seriousness led to millions being unemployed and the first economic recession in the U.S. since the 2008 housing crisis. The government’s impasse on a second coronavirus relief package is only making things worse as Americans hang on by threads.