President Donald Trump will speak to a divided country Tuesday night when he makes a joint address to Congress, with recent polls showing Americans split on the start of his second term.
Trump’s job approval in various surveys has been largely in the mid-to-high 40s, slightly above where it stood at the start of his first term eight years ago. An NBC News poll in February 2017 found Trump’s approval rating at 44%.
A trio of polls released in recent days found Trump’s job approval rating ranging from 45% in a NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, 48% in a CNN poll, and 51% in a CBS/YouGov poll.
The surveys also showed some concerns about Trump’s early priorities.
A majority of Americans (52%) say in the CNN poll that the president has not paid attention to the country’s most important problems, while 40% say he has the right priorities.
The NPR/PBS News/Marist survey also found some taking issue with the speed of Trump’s actions since returning to office. A majority (56%) say Trump has been rushing to make changes without considering their impact, while 43% say he is doing what needs to be done to get the government back on track.
The economy
And an overwhelming majority of Americans surveyed in the CBS/YouGov poll (82%) say they would like Trump to make the economy a high priority. But 36% say he is prioritizing the economy “a lot,” while 30% say he is prioritizing it “some” and 34% say he is prioritizing it “not much” or not at all.
That CBS/YouGov survey found 51% approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, while 49% disapprove. Meanwhile, 54% disapprove of Trump’s handling of inflation, while 46% approve.
Asked if Trump is changing the economy for better or for worse, 46% of Americans say in the NPR/PBS News/Marist survey that is he changing it for the worse, while 42% say he is changing it for the better, and 11% saying there has been no real change.
Rising prices remain a persistent concern for Americans, with majorities believing that grocery prices will increase, according to the CBS/YouGov and NPR/PBS/Marist surveys.
Immigration
Trump is expected to focus on immigration in Tuesday’s address, and some surveys show Americans have a more favorable opinion of his approach on immigration than on other issues.
A majority (54%) approve of Trump’s handling of immigration, while 46% disapprove, according to the CBS/YouGov survey. That poll also found 59% approving of the Trump administration’s program to find and deport illegal immigrants, with 41% disapproving. (Meanwhile, polls have also shown that some pieces of his plan, like deporting people who have not broken other laws besides immigration laws and who have been in America for many years, are less popular.)
A plurality (47%) say Trump is changing U.S. immigration policy for the better, while 43% say it is changing for the worse, and 10% say there has been no real change in the NPR/PBS/Marist poll.
Foreign policy
Americans have been split on Trump’s foreign policy, although these surveys were conducted before Friday’s Oval Office clash between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Nearly half of Americans (49%) say Trump is changing U.S. foreign policy for the worse, while 44% say it is for the better, and 7% say there is no real change, according to the NPR/PBS/Marist.
And slight majorities approve of Trump’s handling of the Russia-Ukraine war (51%) and the Israel-Hamas war (53%), the CBS/YouGov poll found. That survey also found that 3 in 4 adults believe Trump is making “major” changes to U.S. relationships with other countries.
DOGE, Musk and federal cuts
The early weeks of Trump’s presidency have also been defined by sweeping cuts to the federal workforce, led by billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency. Recent polls have found that higher shares of Americans have negative views of DOGE and Musk himself, with some broader concerns about cuts to the federal government.
Half of Americans in the NPR/PBS News/Marist poll view Musk unfavorably, while 39% view him favorably, and 11% are unsure. A plurality (44%) view DOGE unfavorably, while 39% view it favorably, and 17% are unsure.
The CBS/YouGov survey also found 52% of Americans say Musk and DOGE have too much say in dismissing or firing federal workers, 33% say they have the right amount of say, and 15% say they do not have enough say.
And 55% of Americans in the NPR/PBS News/Marist poll say they believe the staff and funding cuts to federal agencies will do more harm than good, while 45% think they will do more good than harm.
The NPR/PBS News/Marist poll surveyed 1,694 adults from Feb. 24-26 via phone, text and online interviews and has a margin of error is +/- 2.8 points. The CBS/YouGov poll surveyed 2,311 adults online from Feb. 26-28, and had a margin of error of +/- 2.5 points. The CNN poll surveyed 2,212 adults online from Feb. 24-28, with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 points.
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