Most Americans say economy is getting worse but Republican views do backflip

Thirty-nine per cent of Republicans now believe the US economy is improving compared with just 8% last May. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The majority of Americans believe the economy is getting worse rather than better, even as Republican views on the nation’s finances have performed a dramatic backflip since Donald Trump’s re-election, according to an exclusive poll conducted for the Guardian.

One month into Trump’s second presidency, a Harris poll found that 51% of Americans now believe that the US economy is worsening, while just 20% said it was improving and 29% said it was the same.