There is an acute struggle dividing U.S. voters that isn’t about Democrats versus Republicans or differences on issues.
It’s about the public’s optimistic view of the economy during the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency and the simultaneously pessimistic view of Trump himself. The contrast is striking.
Polls show overwhelming satisfaction with the state of the economy, the most since the final three years of President Bill Clinton’s administration and the early months of the George W. Bush presidency.
Investor and consumer confidence are on a roll. In January, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 index both rose by about 5 percent.