I’m keeping track of Trump’s economy right here. Every month. Enjoy!

As BuzzFeed's politics lead, my job is to do the doomscrolling for you.

(AKA the unemployment rate, cost of eggs, gas prices, inflation, the Dow Jones, whether citizens received a stimulus check, and Trump's overall approval rating.)

Note: Data on inflation is released a few weeks after each month has ended, so our reports will look at the previous month's numbers. 

For the second month in a row, the US unemployment rate was 4.1%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Imagine going back in time and telling 2024 you that less than $7 per pound of ground beef is a steal. 

Yeah, well, across the US, the price is still volleying around the $4.10 mark. This time, the national average sat at $4.192 in August, according to the Energy Information Administration.

(Has anyone else been seeing those TikTok videos of people filling up their cars and increasingly getting stressed as the numbers barrel into the $100s?)

Though I'm sure you can feel it more than any number could describe it, I regret to inform you that the inflation rate has remained at 3.4% for the second month in a row. 

According to Reuters/Ipsos reporting, the 80-year-old's approval rating dipped to 33% in mid-August. 

Note: Several previous months were reported using figures from Gallup. However, this newsletter switched to sourcing from Reuters after Gallup stopped tracking the president's approval rating. 

You are exactly who Republicans seem to fear the most right now — someone who has been exhausted by Trump's second presidency (and perhaps the last 10 years of Trump in general), and the circus politics have become. 

Many are planning to take out their frustrations on their ballots, and wow. Wouldn't it be something to have a lame duck president in 2026.