Small-business owners were excited for Trump 2.0. Now, tariffs and inflation are causing headaches and eroding optimism.

Why it matters: Main Street's pain is a negative for the entire economy. • The waning confidence of small-business owners, typically a conservative group, is also another political headwind for the president, who has been getting low marks on the economy.

The latest: Small-business owners' confidence fell this fourth quarter from an all-time high in the third quarter, according to an index from MetLife and the Chamber of Commerce out Wednesday morning and shared exclusively with Axios. • It's one of several measures showing weaknesses for small business.

By the numbers: 45% of small-business owners said inflation is their biggest challenge in the Chamber's survey,

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