Voters believe President Trump is flooded with his aggressive efforts to expand his enforcement, and they have deep doubts about some of his agenda signatures, a New York Times/Siena College poll found.
The early months of Trump's administration's tumultuous administration have been deemed “confusing” and “terrifying” by a majority of voters. Voters did not consider him to understand the problems of everyday life and exacerbated his leadership as he took office on the 100th day.
[Nate Cohn looks at President Trump’s polling numbers from four different perspectives.]
Trump's approval rate is at 42%. His position, although historically low for the president earlier this semester, follows his stubborn unpopularity, which did not prevent him from wiping out the states on the battlefield in last year's election.
But now, voters are expressing bleak confidence in dealing with Trump's top issues that pushed him to the economy and the White House, including immigrants, even if most Americans support deportation. Only 43% said they approved how he managed the economy this term.
The president's widespread tariff pursuit — which caused a decline and turnover in the stock market — opposed 55% of voters, including 63% of independents.
Taken together, the survey findings show that Trump's second term honeymoon is over. His recognition rating among key independent voters is now at a disastrous 29%.
Voters said he “goed too far” to the issue. His tariffs, immigration enforcement, and reductions in federal workforce. A wide range of independent voters sided with Democrats, believing he had gone too far.
Overall, a 54% majority say Trump “exceeds the authority he has available,” including 16% of Republicans and 62% of independent voters.
Douglas Williams, 56, is a rural Missouri rancher and banker who voted for Trump in each of his last three elections, and supports many of his agendas. However, he is worried that the president will “push the envelope” with some of his executive orders.
“Now do I agree with my goals? Do I agree with my outcome? Perhaps,” Williams said. “But I'm at least a constitutionalist enough to be a little concerned about how far I'll push it.”
For some Trump supporters, chaos and refusal to follow his norms are part of his appeal.
Nearly half of those who approved Trump thought the recent months were confusing. Around 40% of Republican voters said the president should be able to do what they think is best, even if the president may go outside of existing rules. And 8% of voters who approved Trump said his actions were “a unique threat to our government system.”
“We have to break the rules sometimes,” said Michael Craig, a Republican who retired from outside the hills in Germantown, Illinois.
Still, the entire voter questioned not only Trump's methods, but his policy agenda.
Approximately half of voters, and about 60% of independents, said they were dissatisfied with Trump's handling of trade with other countries. Federal labor; war between Russia and Ukraine. And the case of Maryland immigrant Kilmer Armando Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison as part of Trump's immigration crackdown.
In diplomacy, 68% of voters said the country was primarily benefiting from alliances and trade, while only 24% said the country was hurt primarily by them.
And more voters said they were opposed to Trump's executive order rolling back federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs, rather than supporting them, even if the Day issue pushed Democrats into defensive crouching.
Voters don't seem to believe Trump sympathizes with their struggle. After promising to lower prices quickly for much of last year, he and his allies sought to encourage patience and support the country due to short-term economic pain.
Only 44% of voters, including just 31% of independents, say they “understand the problems people like you are facing.”
The wide majority said they prefer to put restrictions on the exact type of power Trump has tried to exercise.
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61% of voters, including 33% of Republicans, said the president cannot impose tariffs without permission from Congress.
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54%, including 26% of Republicans, said the president cannot rule out programs enacted by Congress.
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63%, including 40% of Republicans, said they cannot deport legal immigrants the president has protested against Israel.
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73% of voters, including 56% of Republicans, said the president could not send American citizens to prisons in El Salvador because Trump threatened to do so.
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And 76% of voters and 61% of Republicans said the president could not ignore the Supreme Court as Trump's administration was heading towards openly rebelling against the court's orders.
Overall, 54% of voters say Trump's changes to the country's political and economic system have “gotten too far,” with 63% of independent voters feeling that way.
And 50% of voters said the upheaval he brought to the country's political and economic system was “bad.” Only 36% said the change would be good.
One of Trump's most troublesome numbers is the share of voters who believe his policies have hurt them personally.
Voters are more than twice as likely to say his policies hurt them more than they helped them. It was a reversal from last fall, with many voters in the demographic group saying his policies during his first term helped them.
Trust in Trump about the economy was a key factor in his 2024 victory. A year ago, a Times/Siena poll showed that 64% of voters remember how they treated the economy as president fondly. But now only 43% of voters who gave him a positive mark on the issue of starting this term have given him.
Voters are deeply unhappy with the economy, even if they are divided on who is responsible.
Despite Trump's short tenure, an equal number of voters believe they are responsible for the economic situation they face as those who view former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. as accountable. Similar shares said neither person was responsible.
At the same time, far more voters believe Trump has made the economy worse since he took office over better (21%).
Negative sentiment about the economy spans all races, education and regions of the country, valuing the economy as superior, with 76% saying it is fair or poor.
Yet despite the dramatic changes in the market, these views have remained largely unchanged since October.
Trump's supporters seem happy to be able to give him more time on his economic agenda, especially tariffs, to give him more time and give him more time.
“I actually thought I was 59. I don't need a lot of stuff and I'm not going to buy a lot of stuff, so for me I sat there for a while and got him to ride.” “Aluminum with Canada is a bit scared because I'm a big dieter. But I think he uses it as a tactic to make things fair and try to make a deal.
One of Trump's signature policies, Mass Deptation, continues to retain the public support of the majority. And although he received negative marks for the deportation and imprisonment of Abrego Garcia of El Salvador, his views on the handling of immigration policy remain relatively similar to those they were a year ago.
The policy of deporting people living in the US has returned to their country illegally, but has gained 54% support, including 18% of Democrats.
Still, voters generally view Trump's handling of immigrants negatively, with 47% approving and 51% disapproving.
Polls showed Democrats would launch a long march towards next year's midterm elections with a faint hope. Of all voters, 47% say they want to vote for House Democrats, compared to 44% of Republican candidates.
Voters are clearly unhappy with the role played by Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in the world and senior White House adviser. With a confused success, he oversaw dramatic cuts to federal agencies through so-called government efficiency, fighting ministers over the scope of his authority.
Only 35% of voters saw Musk in favor. And perhaps even more obviously, attaching his name to his actions made them even more popular. The Times asked two questions about Doge's cuts, and when Musk's name was not included, spending cuts were more common.
Adam Schector, 46, a technology specialist in Springfield, Virginia who voted for Trump last year, said he was worried about the “very troublesome” way he was hoping to do about it.
“As you might say, the chainsaw said two months after Musk wielded a literal chainsaw to promote his cut. “The way it's all treated by chance is not something I generally accept.”
He was also concerned about the “integration of federal power in the administrative sector.”
“I didn't like it under Biden,” he said. “I really don't like it under Trump.”
Christine Chan Reports of contributions.
How this vote was made
Here are some important things to know about this New York Times and Siena College poll:
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Times/Siena polls are conducted over the phone using live interviewers in both English and Spanish. Overall, 97% of respondents contacted their mobile phones for this poll. You can see the exact questions asked and the order in which they were asked here.
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Voters are selected for the survey from a list of registered voters. This list contains information about the demographic characteristics of all registered voters, ensuring that the appropriate number of voters can be reached for each party, race, and region. In the poll, the interviewer made over 120,000 calls to more than 35,000 voters.
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To further ensure that results reflect the overall voting population, not just those willing to vote, but also respondents in the underrepresented demographic group, like those without a university degree, are given more weight among survey respondents. Under Sample Configuration, you can see more information about respondent characteristics and weighted samples at the bottom of the results and methodology page.
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The margin for sampling errors for registered voters is either positive or negative 3.8 percentage points. In theory, this means that the outcomes need to mostly reflect the overall population view, but many other challenges create additional sources of error. When the difference between two values, such as a candidate's lead in a race, the margin of error is twice as large.
Here you can see the complete results and detailed methodology. If you want to read more about how and why Times/Siena Poll is done, you can look at the answers to frequently asked questions and submit your own questions here.
