President Donald Trump turned on Fox News mid-interview Thursday to tell the network that it needs to fire its pollster, declaring that he “stinks.”
The president, presented with survey results showing his administration’s perceived shortcomings in growing the U.S. economy, said the figures were an indictment of Fox News, not him.
The exchange began with host Martha Macullum interrupting Trump—who was talking about bringing back manufacturing jobs, which have declined under his leadership this year—to ask when Americans will enjoy the benefits of his supposedly booming economy.
“When do you think people are going to feel that?” she asked. “Because we do see polling that doesn’t poll well on the economy. Recent Fox polling said 52 percent say the economy is worse under this administration, you’ve got unemployment at the highest rate in four years. Groceries made a big jump in the last term. … You’re looking forward with these plans that you just talked about. When will people feel that?”
Trump responded, “Well, when the factories start opening. I mean, right now we’re building them.”
He then pivoted to criticizing Fox News’ polling.
“Fox polling, I have to tell you, I’ve told you before, the worst polling I’ve ever had, it’s always—I mean, during the election, they had me winning by a little bit, not by a massive amount,” he said. “And Fox polling, I’ve told [Fox Corporation owner] Rupert Murdoch, go get yourself a new pollster, because he stinks—and this is for years now.”
Macullum did not address the dig on her network’s polling, nor did she push back on Trump’s claim that he has already secured $17 trillion in investments for the country this term. That amount is 68 times more than the $250 billion that Trump claimed former President Joe Biden brought into the economy during his four years in office.
“That’s a big number, huge number,” she said of Trump’s claim.
Trump eventually said that the economy’s turnaround—thanks to his policies, like sweeping tariffs—will “kick in probably in a year or so.”
The economy could sure use a jolt. The most recent jobs report showed that the manufacturing sector shed 12,000 jobs in August, meaning the industry has lost 38,000 jobs in 2025. Other sectors with high tariff exposure equally suffered, as healthcare and social work were the only sectors that reported job growth.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in August that the annual inflation rate, at 2.9 percent, is the highest it has been since Trump took office. Claims of joblessness are also at their highest level since late 2021, according to USA Today.
Americans are still feeling it at the grocery store, too. The paper reported this week that ground beef prices are up 13 percent over last August, beef steaks are up more than 16 percent, apples are up 9.6 percent, and that coffee prices have jumped more than 20 percent.
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