A bit more than a month into Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the American public is evenly divided over the impact his new administration will have on the federal government: 41% say Trump’s administration will improve the way the federal government works, and 42% say it will make things worse.
And while Trump is a familiar figure in political life, the number and scope of his executive actions in these first few weeks have still defied many Americans’ expectations:
• For nearly three-in-ten adults (28%), his actions so far have been better than expected.
• But for a larger share (35%), his actions have been worse than expected.
• Another 36% say his early actions have been what they expected.
Echoing partisan divisions during much of Trump’s first term in office, Republicans are upbeat about Trump’s actions and agenda, but Democrats find little to like:
• 67% of Republicans – including those who lean to the GOP – support all or most of Trump’s plans and policies. In contrast, 84% of Democrats and Democratic leaners support few or none.
• About three-quarters of Republicans (76%) say Trump will improve the way the federal government works. A nearly identical share of Democrats (78%) say he’ll make it worse.
• Just over half of Republicans (53%) say Trump’s recent actions have been better than they expected, while six-in-ten Democrats (60%) say they’ve been worse than expected.
All these numbers were found by a recent survey conducted by The Pew Research Center from Jan. 27-Feb. 2 among 5,086 adults.
Trump approval rate
The study also found that 47% of Americans currently approve Trump’s job performance. This is a higher approval rating for Trump than at any point during his first term.
Still, his post-inauguration approval rating is lower than that of most other presidents dating back to Ronald Reagan. (The exception is George W. Bush’s early second-term rating, which was on par with Trump’s current rating.)
Source: The Pew Reaserch Center