Who sees a good economy depends on who is president

Weighted mean response to “is the economy better or worse than a year ago” (1 = worse, 3 = better), by party. Shaded bands mark presidential terms.

Democrats (incl. leaners) Republicans (incl. leaners) Dem president Rep president
The lines change places at every handoff. In 2016 Democrats rated the economy at 2.30 and Republicans 1.67 (Obama's last year); by 2020 it was 1.28 Democratic against 1.99 Republican (Trump); by 2024 it had flipped again to 2.04 versus 1.22 (Biden). Source: ANES, weighted; n ≥ 1,200 per year.

The optimism gap has roughly doubled

In-party minus out-party mean economic sentiment, by year. Defined relative to the sitting president.

Troughs in 1990 and 2008 mark recessions that overrode partisanship; the long trend is upward. Source: ANES, weighted.