President-elect Donald Trump's " winning ways" continue, not only with his solid victory in yesterday's Electoral College vote but with the U.S. economy and how Americans feel about it. The latest survey results set a record high in terms of Americans' confidence in the economy brought about in great measure by the election triumph of Trump.
Since Trump's amazing upset victory on November 8, surveys on the Americans' confidence in the U.S. economy conducted by Gallup have yielded a big turn-around, the mood changing from bleak to rosy, and all in great part due to Trump's victory. The previous two polls since Trump's win have registered a high + 8. The results in the week ending December 18 have gotten even better, registering a record-high in the U.S. Economic Confidence Index of +10, the best record in the polling firm's nine-year trend.
The most recent result also marks the first double-digit positive index score since the inception of Gallup Daily tracking in 2008. The vibrant economic outlook of Americans after Trump's win offers a stark change from the mostly negative views they expressed in most weeks the past nine years, encompassing President Obama two full terms of eight years.
Gallup arrives at the U.S. Economic Confidence Index by getting the average of two components: how Americans rate current economic conditions and whether they feel the economy is improving or getting worse. Such confidence in the economy expressed by Americans after Trump's win is not really surprising. Various polls even during the campaign have always revealed that when it comes to perceived competence or even potential competence in managing the economy, more Americans believed Trump would do better than Hillary. After all, the Republican is a successful businessman himself, spearheading the development of a huge family business empire. Since his election triumph, Trump has also been working hard on matters related to the economy as he awaits his inauguration, including working out deals to keep jobs in the U.S. for Americans".
Before Trump's victory, Americans see the economy in a decidedly negative view. Post- 2016 presidential election poll results show that economic confidence is the highest Gallup has seen in years. Gallup says that if Americans' confidence in the economy persists, it would potentially make a strong first year for Trump.
Gallup conducted the latest poll in the week of December 12-18, with random sample of 3,549 adults aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The interviews comprised of 60% cellphone respondents and 40% landline respondents. The survey has a margin of error of +- 2 percentage points, at the 95% confidence level.
