<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Concern about rising prices has reached a fever pitch as Americans sit down to Memorial Day barbecues across the country. A majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents said that they had changed their purchases from grocery stores to stay within budget in the last several months, according to <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/12/politics/cost-of-living-us-financial-problem-vis" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">polling from CNN.</a></p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Another 59 percent of Americans said they had cut back on extras and entertainment.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">More than three quarters of Americans, including 55 percent of Republicans, said President Trump’s policies had increased the cost of living in their community.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Survey after survey has found that Americans are feeling growing financial uncertainty. Nearly half of all voters gave the economy the lowest rating, “poor,” in <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/us/politics/poll-trump-republicans-midterms-iran.html" title="">the latest New York Times/Siena poll</a>, up 11 percentage points since January.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">And economic confidence has hit a four-year low, according to <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/710450/economic-confidence-sinks-further-worst-2022.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">Gallup</a>.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Gas prices have continued to soar nationally, rising above $4.50 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-1"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Nearly 80 percent of voters — including a majority of Republicans — say the Trump administration is responsible for this price hike, according to <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fox-news-poll-economic-pain-deepens-disapproval-trump-hits-new-high" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">polling from Fox News</a>. Large majorities also blamed oil companies, the war in Iran and government regulations.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">All in all, a solid majority of voters in the Fox poll, 57 percent, say that Mr. Trump’s policies have hurt the country, up from 51 percent who said the same one year ago.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="RelatedLinksBlock-3"><div data-testid="lazy-loader"></div></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-2"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-1n7yjps etfikam0">The Times occasionally features polling that illustrates Americans’ views on issues of the day. The numbers come from high-quality polls with a record for accuracy and rigorous methods.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="InteractiveBlock-5"><section class="interactive-content interactive-size-scoop css-1fwl6kh" data-id="100000010840208" data-source-id="100000010840208" data-testid="inline-interactive" data-uri="nyt://embeddedinteractive/a5d0ef4f-1f62-5391-9071-43c3d0d4b462" id="nat-pulse-iran-war-stylesheet"><div class="css-17ih8de interactive-body" data-sourceid="100000010840208" id="embed-id-100000010840208"> <cript>window.registerInteractive && window.registerInteractive("100000010840208");</script> <style> article#story { header { h1, time { text-align: center; margin: 0 auto 20px; } .byline-container { justify-content: center; margin-top: 32px; } #article-summary, div[data-testid^="share-tools"], section[data-id="100000010805361"], section#gpsModule { display: none; } } /* Override their insistence on showing the anti-AI- prompt */ div#NYT_ABOVE_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION, .gps-show .gps-module { display: none; } } section#nat-pulse-iran-war-stylesheet { display: none; } </style></div></section></div>