Fact-check: Trump says U.S. consumer confidence is 'way up'

"Consumer confidence is way up," President Donald Trump said May 4 during a small business summit at the White House.
Posted 5/8/2026, 9:04:08 PM Updated 5/8/2026, 10:00:05 PM

UP.

>> THANKS FOR BEING WITH US ON

YOUR FRIDAY EVENING. PRESIDENT

DONALD TRUMP HELD A SMALL

BUSINESS SUMMIT AT THE WHITE

HOUSE THIS WEEK WHERE HE

CLAIMED THAT AMERICANS ARE

GROWING MORE CONFIDENT IN THE

U.S. ECONOMY. PAUL SPAY CHECKS

THAT CLAIM FOR POLITIFACT

>> HOW ARE AMERICANS FEELING

ABOUT THE U.S. ECONOMY? WELL,

WITH THE MIDTERM ELECTION, 6

MONTHS AWAY, PRESIDENT DONALD

TRUMP SAYS CONSUMER CONFIDENCE

IS GOING UP.

>> AND THANKS TO THESE

PRO-GROWTH POLICIES, OUR

ECONOMY IS ROARING. IN FACT,

RECONSTRUCTION IS CAN HIS WAY

OUT CONSUMER CONFIDENCE IS WAY

OUT OF IT.

>> WE ASKED THE WHITE HOUSE WHY

THEY BELIEVE CONFIDENCE IS OUT.

THEY POINTED US TO THE

YEAR-OVER-YEAR MONTHLY CHANGE

IN RETAIL SALES ON YOUR SCREEN.

FEDERAL DATA SHOWS THAT SALES

HAVE BEEN GENERALLY HIGHER

UNDER TRUMP THAN THEY WERE

UNDER FORMER PRESIDENT JOE

BIDEN. BUT TRUMP DIDN'T SAY

RETAIL SALES WERE UP. HE SAID

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE IS UP AND

THAT WORD CONSUMER CONFIDENCE

REFLECTS HOW AMERICANS FEEL

ABOUT THE CURRENT AND FUTURE

STATE OF THE ECONOMY AND ITS

SOMETHING. RESEARCHERS AT THE

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN HAVE

BEEN COLLECTING DATA ON SINCE

1978. THEIR LATEST SURVEY FOUND

ONE OF THE LOWEST SCORES IN

MODERN HISTORY. THEN THERE'S

A NONPROFIT GROUP CALLED THE

CONFERENCE BOARD AND THEIR DATA

SHOWS CONFIDENCE HAS BEEN

CONSISTENTLY LOWER DURING

TRUMP'S SECOND TERM. THEN IT

WAS UNDER BIDEN. ANOTHER GROUP

CALLED THE SILVER BULLET AND

LOOKS AT MULTIPLE POLLS ABOUT

THE PRESIDENT AND HIS HANDLING

OF THE ECONOMY. YOU CAN SEE ON

YOUR SCREEN TRUMP'S APPROVAL

RATING FOR THE ECONOMY HAS BEEN

DECLINING THROUGHOUT HIS SECOND

TERM. THE LATEST MOST CREDIBLE

DATA DOES NOT SHOW CONSUMER

CONFIDENCE RISING AS TRUMP

SAID. AND THAT'S WHY THE TRUTH

IN WHICH TRUMP'S CLAIM.