Trump upbeat at 100 days, but Americans fear economic woes

US President Donald Trump has completed 100 days in office, and while his administration celebrates the ‘success’ of the four months that have passed by, Americans are wary about the economic impact of his policies in the coming days.

Consumer confidence in the US has plummeted to levels akin to the COVID-era as anxiety over the impact of tariffs takes a heavy toll. Earlier this week, the Conference Board said that its consumer confidence index fell 7.9 points in April to 86, its lowest reading since May 2020.

The figures capture the mood of Americans’ rapidly depleting outlook over Trump’s sweeping measures, which most think would increase the prices of commodities in the US. “Rattled consumers are less than confident consumers. If confidence sags and consumers retrench, growth will go down,” Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, told AP.

A measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market plunged 12.5 points to 54.4, the lowest level in more than 13 years. The reading is well below 80, which typically signals a recession ahead.

Recession likely in the US?

Meanwhile, an AP-NORC poll has found that roughly half of US adults think that Trump’s policies are a catalyst for an impending recession. About half of Americans are “extremely” or “very” concerned about the possibility of the US economy going into a recession in the next few months.

Only 4 in 10 Americans believe that Trump has what it takes to handle the country’s economy. Matthew Wood, 41, said he’s waiting to see how the tariffs play out, but he’s feeling anxious.

“I’m not a huge fan of it, especially considering China and going back and forth with adjustments on both ends. Personally, it hasn’t affected me as of yet. But, generally, I don’t know how this is going to come to an end, especially with the big countries involved,” he told the news agency.

About half of US adults, 52 per cent, are against imposing tariffs on all goods brought into the US from other countries. That’s up slightly from January, when a poll found that 46 per cent were against tariffs. Driving that small shift largely appears to be adults under age 30 who didn’t previously have an opinion on tariffs.

The Amazon tiff

While Trump is reportedly losing support from his fellow countrymen, big companies like Amazon are also fighting a battle with the White House over tariffs.

Amazon said on Tuesday its low-cost Haul unit had considered listing import charges for goods in light of new US tariffs but denied looking at such a plan for its main website, after the White House accused it of a hostile political act.

The Seattle retailer spent a chaotic morning denying a report from Punchbowl News that it planned to display prices showing the tariffs’ impact on Amazon.com. It acknowledged it had considered it for certain inexpensive China-made products on Haul but then rejected the idea.

The confusion initially prompted a 2 per cent drop in Amazon shares after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the reported pricing plan “a hostile and political act by Amazon.”

With inputs from agencies