Trump’s economy officially passes Biden’s for worst consumer sentiment in recorded history

American consumers are more pessimistic about the economy than at any time in recorded history.

The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 47.6 in preliminary April 2026 readings released Friday—a 10.7% drop from March’s 53.3 and the lowest reading in the survey’s 74-year history. The figure blew past the prior record low of 50, set in June 2022 during the worst of the post-pandemic inflation crisis under President Biden, when gas prices and grocery bills were squeezing households nationwide. Three of the lowest consumer sentiment readings ever recorded have now occurred within the past nine months of Trump’s second term.

The milestone lands with political weight. Biden’s June 2022 nadir became a signature attack line for Republicans during the 2022 midterms and throughout the 2024 campaign—proof, they argued, that his economic stewardship had failed ordinary Americans. Now, with Trump owning a record that’s measurably worse, the tables have turned. And the causes, economists say, are different in kind, not just degree.

A war economy hits home

The proximate driver of the April collapse is the war in Iran. Survey director Joanne Hsu noted that sentiment has been sliding since the conflict began, and that demographic groups across age, income, and politi...