Donald Trump's Fox News Poll Meltdown Exposes Risk to His 'Businessman' Brand, PR Expert Claims

President Donald Trump centered his political campaigns around the promise that he had the business acumen to manage the economy better than anyone else. That is what makes his latest polling so frustrating to him.

During a Fox News interview, Trump complained that his economic record was not getting enough credit, despite polls showing voters remain unconvinced. “People don’t know,” he said, before objecting to coverage suggesting he was at “42 percent” on the economy.

“I shouldn’t be,” Trump said. “We have the greatest economy, maybe in the history of the world for any country.”

Several recent polls tell a different story. An August 2 AP-NORC survey found 32 percent of voters approve of Trump’s handling of the economy. A June Fox News poll put that number at 31 percent, while CNBC reported in July that 61 percent of voters had a pessimistic view of the economy.

“Trump built his brand on being a businessman who could fix the economy,” said Jason Mudd, partner at Axia Public Relations.

“That's the deal a lot of voters made with him: they held their nose on other issues because they believed his economic instincts beat the alternative, and they remembered prices feeling more under control during his first term,” he added.

Christopher Lee, founder of Foresight Strategic Advisors, agreed that weak economic perception goes directly at Trump’s identity.

“His entire identity is that he's a 'businessman' who can fix the economy because he knows business,” Lee said.

Trump told Fox that Republicans need to talk more about “how well” the government is doing, saying, “We should be given an ‘A+’ on the economy.”

“When he goes after pollsters instead of talking about grocery bills and rent, people don't hear confidence,” Mudd explained. “They hear someone managing his narrative or changing the subject. And changing the subject is the one thing a ‘results guy’ can't afford to do.”

Lee said voters feel economic conditions personally.

“Voters don't vote on inflation rates, they vote on their groceries and gas receipts,” he said.

Trump has also faced weak overall approval ratings, with recent surveys from CNN, Ipsos and YouGov placing him at 35 percent, Quinnipiac at 32 percent and Fox News at 39 percent in June.

"Any elected or candidate who shoots the proverbial messenger, a.k.a. the pollster, is signaling a fear that voters aren't buying the schtick anymore,” Lee said.

“Trump is effectively showing everyone that the 'businessman can fix everything' narrative that has won him two presidential races has lost power — even with his base,” he added.

“The irony of all of this: Fox News did the poll,” he noted. “If you are attacking your 'friendly media outlet' for putting out a poll that shows you hovering at 30% — don't fight the methodology.”