Despite recession, economy remains Trump selling point

• By Scott Horsley

Almost 30 million people are now collecting unemployment benefits. Yet President Trump still gets relatively high marks for his handling of the economy.

As Republicans focus on “opportunity” at tonight’s convention, the economy remains one of the president’s strongest selling points.

Ordinarily, a double-digit unemployment rate would be crippling for a president seeking reelection, but Trump’s economic approval rating continues to hover near 50%.

“What’s going on is the memory of the economy before the pandemic,” says Republican pollster Whit Ayres. “It was rolling. Unemployment was at historic lows. The economy was in great shape before the pandemic killed it.”

Presidential approval ratings in general don’t swing up and down as much as they used to. Americans have increasingly sorted themselves into highly polarized camps, reluctant to abandon their own standard-bearer or show even grudging approval for the other side.

“It just feels temporary,” says Mark Schneider, a Navy retiree who lives in Chesapeake, Va. “We just kind of paused the economy, as opposed to something mucking the system.”

Trump’s overall approval rating is considerably lower than his economic marks, weighed down in part by his handling of the pandemic. And until there’s a solution for the coronavirus, Ayres says it’s going to be difficult for the economy to come roaring back.

Read more about how voters view Trump’s handling of the economy here.