Trump and the GOP lose a key edge with voters: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.In today’s edition, Sahil Kapur digs into our newest poll to underscore the challenge facing Republicans at the polls this fall.Plus, Natasha Korecki and Matt Dixon examine Elon Musk’s under-the-radar midterm role (so far).

— Adam WollnerTrump and the GOP lose a key edge with votersAnalysis by Sahil KapurEver since he first descended down a golden escalator in 2015, President Donald Trump and his party have possessed a powerful political asset: Voters have generally trusted them on the economy.But that appears to be shifting heading into the November midterm elections.Our new NBC News poll released over the weekend found that 39% registered voters trust Democrats more to handle the economy, compared to 38% who trusted Republicans more — a 1-point difference.While voters have been split relatively evenly on the issue between the two parties in recent NBC News polling, Republicans had long held an edge on the question.

Republicans had a 15-point advantage in October 2018 — one month before Democrats gained a net of 41 seats to win control of the House — and a 19-point advantage in September 2022.The only other time during the Trump era Democrats led on the question of which party voters trust more on the economy was in December 2017.[chart]Similarly, the latest NBC News poll showed that 55% of registered voters said that Trump’s policies have “hurt” the economy, while 26% say they’ve “helped.” That net margin of negative 29 points is 16 points worse than Trump performed on the issue in a March NBC News poll.And in September 2018, voters said 41%-26% that Trump’s policies had helped the economy, rather than hurt.Inflation and the cost of living topped the list of voters’ most important issues facing the country in the new poll (28%), while another 9% s...