Key keywords: CBS News 2024 economic poll, Trump economic approach frustration, U.S. economic sentiment decline, U.S. household financial stress, 2024 economic uncertainty, middle class economic hardship, Trump tariff policy impact, 2024 voter economic approval. A newly published CBS News poll released on October 17, 2024, has laid bare deepening public anxiety over the state of the U.S. economy, with an overwhelming majority of respondents reporting rising stress, pervasive uncertainty, and broad dissatisfaction with the Trump administration’s economic policy framework. The survey, which sampled 2,345 registered voters across 12 key battleground states and 38 non-competitive states between October 12 and October 16, found that 68% of U.S. adults believe the national economy is moving in the wrong direction, marking a 14-point jump from the same poll conducted in June 2024. Only 26% of respondents said they view the economy as "very or somewhat good", the lowest reading recorded since Trump took office for his second term in January 2023. Widespread frustration with the president’s economic approach is a core finding of the poll: 57% of registered voters said they disapprove of how Trump is handling economic issues, with 42% saying they "strongly disapprove". This disapproval cuts across demographic lines: 61% of independent voters, 52% of suburban voters, and even 22% of self-identified Republican respondents said they are unhappy with the administration’s economic policies. Much of the public anger is tied to persistent cost-of-living pressures that have shown no signs of abating. 72% of respondents said their household grocery costs have risen by 20% or more since 2023, 64% reported paying higher rent or mortgage payments, and 58% said gasoline prices remain a major financial burden. For middle-class households earning between $50,000 and $150,000 annually, 78% said they have cut back on non-essential spending over the past six months, with 32% saying they have dipped into emergency savings to cover basic expenses. Economic uncertainty is another major driver of negative sentiment, with 69% of respondents saying they feel "not very or not at all confident" that their household financial situation will improve over the next 12 months. Many cited the administration’s fluctuating tariff policies, repeated threats to cut social security and Medicare funding, and volatility in the housing market as key sources of their unease. Small business owners, in particular, expressed sharp criticism: 62% of small business respondents said the administration’s 2023 expansion of tariffs on imported goods from China, the EU, and Mexico has raised their supply costs by an average of 17%, forcing many to raise prices for consumers or lay off staff. The poll also found that economic concerns are poised to be the defining issue in the upcoming 2024 congressional elections, with 82% of registered voters saying a candidate’s position on economic policy will be the most important factor driving their vote.