The American public is frustrated, disappointed and increasingly angry at the state of politics 100 days into Donald Trump’s second term in the White House, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, with neither party positioned to change the mood.
Approval ratings for Republican leaders in Congress are deeply underwater, with Democrats faring even worse as their rank-and-file turn increasingly negative about the party’s leaders. Nearly two-thirds of all Americans say things in the country are going badly today.
The poll also finds a rising tide of fear among Americans looking ahead to the rest of Trump’s second term, with many doubtful that the checks and balances built into the US government are doing enough to limit Trump’s actions in office.
“I’m not pleased. I’m unsure. I’m honestly scared. I think this is the first time I can say that I’m fearful as to what is coming, what has happened and what is coming,” said Lisa Taylor, an independent from Maryland who voted for Trump in 2016 and for Democrat Kamala Harris in 2024 and participated in the poll.
She is one of about 4 in 10 Americans (41%) who say they feel afraid about the remainder of Trump’s second term, up 6 points since February and 12 points since December. That shift is centered among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, 71% of whom say they feel afraid about what’s to come during Trump’s time in office, up from 63% two months ago. Just 8% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents feel the same way. This GOP-aligned group remains broadly positive about Trump and has grown increasingly optimistic about politics generally (55%, up from 31% before Trump took office), but the share saying they’re enthusiastic for the rest of Trump’s term has dipped from 44% in February to 34% now.
Half or more of all Americans in the poll say they feel Congress (56%) and courts and judges (50%) are doing too little to check Trump’s power as president, and that the Trump administration is not doing enough to uphold checks and balances (53%). Most independents and Democrats say too little is being done to check Trump across the board, but Republicans largely see the Trump administration (75%) and Congress (54%) as striking the right balance, while a majority of the GOP sees courts and judges as overreaching in their efforts to check Trump’s power as president (52%).
All told, 58% now say that Republicans’ unified control of the House of Representatives, Senate and White House is bad for the country, up from 53% who felt that way in January just before Trump took office. Just 37% say they approve of the way Republican leaders in Congress are handling their jobs, and both House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune have underwater favorability ratings (23% favorable to 33% unfavorable for Johnson, 16% favorable to 24% unfavorable for Thune).
But there is little sign that this disgruntled public is ready to turn to Democrats instead. Approval ratings for Democratic leaders in Congress are even lower (27% approve, a record low for the party in CNN polling back to 2008) and nearly half of adults (46%) say they disapprove of leaders from both parties. The top two Hill Democrats — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — are also underwater in favorability (20% favorable to 27% unfavorable for Jeffries; 17% favorable to 44% unfavorable for Schumer, his worst rating in CNN polling back to 2017).
Gregory Victorianne, a 65-year-old Democrat from Los Angeles who took the poll, expressed frustration with his party’s response to Trump’s return to office. “The Democrats need to wake up. They need to put this man in check, put this party in check and let us know in real time what they’re doing so we can stay on top of it and fight and take control of the House, the Senate and the White House again.”
The public is also about evenly split over whether Harris would’ve done a better job than Trump had she won last year’s election – 42% say Trump has done a better job than Harris would have, 41% that Harris would’ve been better and 16% that the two would’ve been about the same.
Much of the Democratic image problem comes from dissatisfaction within their own ranks. While Republicans and Republican-leaning independents broadly approve of their congressional leadership (72% of GOP-aligned adults approve of the party’s congressional leaders), those who belong or lean toward the Democratic Party are deeply negative toward their party’s leadership: 61% disapprove and just 38% approve.
While Republican-aligned adults have grown more positive toward Johnson and Thune since January, Democrats and Democratic leaners have shifted more negative toward their own leaders. Jeffries’ favorability rating with that group slipped from net positive by 37 points to net positive by 31 points, with all of the change coming on the unfavorable side. And Schumer has lost significant ground among his own partisans, falling from a 46% favorable to 11% unfavorable rating in January to a 31% favorable vs. 30% unfavorable split now.
Although he has lost ground across the board, Schumer’s unpopularity within the party is notably high among the youngest Democratic-aligned adults, as he faces significant pressure to make way for younger leaders — particularly in the wake of his decision not to fight a GOP-backed spending bill in March. Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents younger than 35, 14% have a favorable view and 24% an unfavorable one. Among those in the party aged 65 or older, though, impressions are widely net positive, 52% favorable to 22% unfavorable. In January, Democratic views of Schumer broke at least narrowly positive across all age groups.
Souring views of Democratic leaders come as anger with politics among the party’s rank-and-file generally has swelled: 70% of Democratic-aligned adults now say that they’re angry about national politics, up from 46% in January. Overall, about 45% of Americans say they’re angry about politics, up from 39% in January.
Majorities of all Americans in the poll say they are feeling frustrated (63%, about the same as in January) and disappointed (60%, down 10 points since January) with politics in America today. Some of that negative sentiment towards the political environment is present across party lines, with 82% of Democrats and Democratic leaners and nearly half of Republican-aligned adults saying they are frustrated (45%). Partisans are moving in opposite directions on this measure, though, with Democrats expressing increased frustration as that feeling dips among Republicans.
Victorianne, the Democrat from Los Angeles, wants to see more action from his own party. “We need the politicians, the Democrats themselves, who are in office, … [to] let us know ‘I got your back,’ instead of asking me for my wallet.”
CNN’s Ariel Edwards-Levy and Edward Wu contributed to this report.
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