Republicans sour on the economy

Republicans' confidence in the economy has plummeted over the last six months at a pace unseen since Covid — reminiscent of the declines during the global financial crisis nearly two decades ago.

Why it matters: Usually, the president's party is upbeat about the economy, while the party out of power is far more downcast.

What's striking now is that Republicans have grown increasingly sour this year, even with a Republican president in office.

It's another in a long list of ominous indicators for President Trump heading into the final two months before Election Day .

By the numbers: Since February, Republican consumer sentiment has plunged 15.1 index points, from 97.1 to 82, according to the latest University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers data.

Democratic sentiment has fallen just 1.6 index points, from 41.8 to 40.2.

The 82 reading is lower than at any point during either of Trump's presidencies, with one exception: December 2020, after he had lost reelection but before he left office.

Data: University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers; Chart: Mike Zapler/Axios Flashback: It's rare for one party's outlook to remain steady while the other's falls — typically they move in tandem.

But a similar split occurred during the global financial crisis in late 2008 and early 2009.

Caveat: That period included the election and inauguration of a Democratic president, accounting for some of the Republican decline.

What they're saying: "The vast majority of the time, Republicans and Democrats move broadly in parallel," Joanne Hsu, director of the Surveys of Consumers, told Axios.

But that is not the case now.

"Republicans were expecting very positive results from administration policies" on the economy, including tariffs, she added.

"But they haven't seen a slowdown in inflation, let alone" the reduction in prices that Trump promised.