Trump Hits Record-Low Approval on Inflation and Gas Prices While Kennedy Center Fight Escalates

President Donald Trump now holds the distinction of recording the worst net approval ratings on inflation and gas prices of any U.S. president in modern polling history, according to data presented by CNN polling expert Harry Enten. The milestone comes as Trump faces mounting criticism over his handling of economic issues that helped propel him to victory in the 2024 presidential election.

Recent findings from a Marquette Law School survey revealed Trump with just a 19% approval rating on inflation and 20% on gas prices. Enten explained Thursday that Trump’s net approval rating on inflation stands at negative 61 percentage points, marking the lowest net approval rating any president has recorded on the issue. Trump won the 2024 election largely because voters trusted him more than then-Vice President Kamala Harris to handle inflation.

“That is the worst that Donald Trump has ever polled on inflation. And not only is it the worst that Donald Trump has ever polled on inflation, it is the worst that any president ever has polled on inflation,” Enten stated during his CNN analysis.

Multiple Polls Confirm Historic Disapproval

The Marquette Law School survey does not stand alone in documenting Trump’s economic approval collapse. A Fox News poll released earlier this week showed Trump with a net approval rating on inflation of negative 50 percentage points. While slightly better than the Marquette findings, Enten emphasized that even this figure represents a record for any president prior to Trump’s current term.

“It’s literally worse than any president before President Trump came into office. So this -50 points, not as bad as the -61 points, but would still be a record for any other president,” Enten explained. On Friday, he highlighted how Trump’s 80% disapproval rating on his handling of gas prices also ranks as the worst of any president, with gas prices soaring to a national average of $4.47 per gallon as of Friday.

The data expert offered a pointed observation about Trump’s achievement: “This is literally the worst net approval rating on inflation for any president. It is truly record breaking. Congratulations, President Trump. You’re breaking records, but perhaps not in the way that you wish to.”

Kennedy Family Condemns President Over Center Dispute

As Trump grapples with economic disapproval, he faces fierce backlash from the family of former President John F. Kennedy over his ongoing legal battle to add his name to the Kennedy Center and his threats to halt planned renovations. The Kennedy Center board, handpicked by Trump, voted Tuesday to close the main building, but the president declared that renovations will not proceed as long as a court ruling blocking his name from the building remains in effect.

“If the ruling is a negative one, which it should not be, and is not overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Maria Shriver, Kennedy’s niece and former first lady of California, delivered a scathing response to Trump’s statement, calling the president “small minded” and “narcissistic.” Her criticism focused on Trump’s willingness to hold a public building hostage over his personal branding demands.

Legal Questions Surround Demolition Threats

“That a sitting president would not let any renovations to a public building go on unless he gets to first put his name in the said building… What a sad state of affairs. What a tragedy,” Shriver wrote on X, adding that Trump appears determined to permanently connect his name to that of a great president.

Trump has indicated he may seek to demolish the center if blocked from adding his name to the iconic venue, raising constitutional and legal questions about presidential authority over national monuments. Legal experts consulted by fact-checkers noted that Trump would face significant legal obstacles to demolishing the Kennedy Center, though whether those barriers would prove sufficient to stop a determined effort remains uncertain.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts opened in 1971 on the Potomac River as a memorial to the slain president. During Trump’s second term, he broke with tradition by filling the center’s board with loyalists before announcing the center’s closure for major renovation. Under the new board, the center added Trump’s name to the marble facade above Kennedy’s and changed its branding to “the Trump-Kennedy Center.”

Renovation Plans Tied to Name Dispute

Critics filed lawsuits to stop these changes, and in mid-September a judge rejected Trump’s request to keep his name on the facade without congressional approval. Trump spoke to reporters September 16, reiterating his belief that only he can fix the Kennedy Center’s financial and structural problems and that his name must appear on the building for him to commit to the project long-term.

The Kennedy Center controversy forms part of a broader pattern of Trump’s aggressive approach to Washington landmarks. The president has moved forward with plans to demolish the White House’s East Wing for a ballroom, proposed installation of a 250-foot-tall arch near national monuments and Arlington National Cemetery, and outlined creation of a golf course on public land. Trump has already begun tearing down the East Wing despite continuing legal efforts to halt the project.

The convergence of historic economic disapproval ratings and the escalating Kennedy Center fight presents Trump with dual challenges as he seeks to implement his agenda. The polling data suggests voters no longer trust him on the economic issues that secured his 2024 victory, while the Kennedy Center dispute has united Kennedy family members in public opposition to what they characterize as narcissistic overreach.

With gas prices continuing to climb and inflation remaining a top voter concern, Trump faces mounting pressure to deliver economic results that match his campaign promises. The Kennedy Center standoff, meanwhile, shows no signs of resolution as both sides prepare for potential Supreme Court intervention over whether a sitting president can unilaterally rebrand and renovate a memorial to a predecessor.