US voters worried about corruption under Trump -- FT poll

Americans link graft to affordability crisis as midterm elections loom

Corruption has become a key source of American discontent in the closing days of midterm election campaigning, with a large majority of US voters saying they are worried about graft in Donald Trump's second administration.

About 69 per cent of registered voters, and almost 50 per cent of those who voted for the president in 2024, said they were "very" or "somewhat" concerned about "corruption, self-dealing or conflicts of interest" in the Trump administration, according to a nationwide survey conducted by the FT and Focaldata.

Nearly half of all registered voters also said corruption had been more of a problem during Trump's second term compared with previous administrations.

The findings come as Americans grapple with soaring fuel costs and high prices linked to Trump's unpopular war with Iran.

"When a family reads a story about presidential crypto profits at the same time as they are deciding whether they should put off their expensive doctor's appointment, they see that the system is working for someone -- just not for them," said Jeremy Ney, a Columbia Business School professor.

"Voters can tolerate some economic pain, as long as they believe it is shared," said Ney, who recently wrote a book on US affordability issues. "But when that pain only flows in one direction, discontent boils to the surface."

Davis Ingle, a White House spokesperson, said Trump had "launched an all-out war on fraud across the entire federal government, holding criminals accountable and saving taxpayers billions of dollars" whereas congressional Democrats "refused to do anything to stop waste, fraud and abuse in our government".

Ingle added that there were "no conflicts of interest" and Trump "only acts in the best interests of the American public -- which is why they overwhelmingly re-elected him to this office despite years of lies and false accusations against him and his businesses".

Trump has said to treat the midterm elections as though he were on the ballot and voters' views of the president could have a negative impact on Republican candidates, who are fighting to prevent Democrats from winning control of Congress.

Over the past month, members of the president's party have worried that Trump's low voter approval rates and the economic impact of tariffs and the Iran war could be a liability for their campaigns.

About 54 per cent of voters said either the Trump administration or Republicans in Congress were most responsible for the higher prices Americans currently face, according to the latest FT poll.

Even more worryingly for Republicans, more than 40 per cent of respondents said that rising prices have made them more likely to vote for Democrats in the midterms.

"Many Americans associate corruption and affordability as issues in their minds," said Daniel Weiner, who focuses on money in politics and government ethics at New York University's Brennan Center for Justice.

Corruption has become a top concern for voters, "second only to affordability," said Weiner, citing a Brennan Center poll earlier this year, which found that over 90 per cent of respondents, including supermajorities of both parties, said corruption was a "big problem" in politics and government.

"It's a cliché at this point, but [Americans] think the system is rigged and they're very angry about it," he told the FT.

Trump's second term has been lucrative for members of his family who have made at least $1bn from a variety of cryptocurrency ventures.

Some corporate donors with close ties to the first family have also benefited from policy changes, while others have won government contracts, including companies that Donald Trump Jr's firm has invested in.

About 56 per cent of FT poll respondents said they had become worse off financially since Trump took office in January 2025, with more than a quarter saying that they had had to cut back on essential expenses such as groceries or healthcare since Trump took office.

A major driver of inflation has been the Iran war, which has dragged on for nearly eight months -- with no signs of ending anytime soon. Fuel prices have skyrocketed since the start of the conflict, with diesel now averaging $6.32 per gallon, more than 70 per cent higher than a year ago, according to data from AAA.

The FT poll was conducted online by Focaldata, a London-based, non-partisan research company, October 16-18. It reflects the opinions of 1,648 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.