Opinion Weekend
April 11-12, 2026
Consumer sentiment sinks Joanne Hsu, University of Michigan Consumer sentiment sank about 11% this month, extending a decline that began with the start of the Iran conflict, and is currently about 9% below a year ago.... Open ended comments show that many consumers blame the Iran conflict for unfavorable changes to the economy.... Year-ahead inflation expectations surged from 3.8% in March to 4.8% this month, the largest one-month increase since April 2025.
April 2026 LSEG/Ipsos Primary Consumer Sentiment Index Johnny Sawyer, Ipsos Consumer Confidence Declines Sharply As All Four Sub-Indices Fall
RFK Jr. has turned corporate America’s name to mud, POLITICO Poll finds Amanda Chu, Politico Most Americans, especially Republicans, want to regulate food and drug makers now.
What Americans agree on about AI Clifford Young and Bernard Mendez, Ipsos Five charts on where Americans stand on AI, where they agree, where partisan rifts could emerge, and why AI populism could be on the horizon
Americans Oppose Executive Overreach in Elections States United States run elections. Attempts to expand presidential power over elections are unpopular with Americans.... States United partnered with YouGov on a national survey of 1,570 adults from February 11 through 19, 2026, to better understand Americans’ views on specific forms of executive overreach in elections.
8 in 10 Europeans don’t trust US, Chinese firms with data Ellen O'Regan, Politico More than 8 in 10 Europeans don't trust American or Chinese technology companies with their data, a new POLITICO European Pulse survey of six major EU countries showed.
Trump’s Popularity Took A Hit In April Terry Jones, tippinsights President Donald Trump’s favorability ratings fell in April, data from the latest I&I/TIPP Poll indicate. Is the drop possibly a short-term casualty of the month-long war with Iran that has brought higher oil prices and increased economic uncertainty to many Americans? Or is it just a one-off statistical blip?
Second Term Worse than the First Charles Franklin, PollsAndVotes Whatever Trump’s approval rating was in the first term, he could count on an electorate optimistic about the economy. In the second term economic pessimism can only be a drag on his approval and the fortunes of the Republican party in November.
Graphs about gas prices and presidential approval G. Elliott Morris, Strength In Numbers History says gas prices have a small impact on presidential approval — but it's not equal for every president
Why you shouldn't overread the drop in Trump's approvals Charlie Cook Politics He's lost about all the support he can lose without shedding his core Republican supporters—and that's unlikely. Republicans wanted Trump to sell the economy. He’s been talking war instead. Jessie Blaeser and Megan Messerly, Politico In January, Trump was speaking about affordability far more often than he talked about war and conflict, a POLITICO analysis found. By March, that trend had flipped.
