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Thursday marked two months since President Donald Trump was sworn into office for his second term.
One of just two presidents to serve non-consecutive terms, his first weeks have provided a unique opportunity to compare his approval ratings against himself at the same point in his first presidency.
Out of the gate, Trump’s net approval ratings were higher than his own rates in 2017, but still lower than any other president in history. One month in, his net approval rating (defined as the the margin between a president’s approval and disapproval polling averages) had shrunk to just above even in late February.
Since then, Trump has marched on with federal agency cuts and has continued to feature Elon Musk in a central role in his administration, both of which are controversial with voters, multiple polls have shown.
Here is what polls tell us about how Americans approve of Trump’s second presidency so far.
How Republicans’ united front, Democrats’ division play into Trump’s approval ratings
Two months in, Trump’s approval ratings do not show a major shift from the beginning of his term or compared to his first term, according to Costas Panagopoulos, head of political science at Northeastern University.
But he also said voters may continue to have reservations about the administration’s priorities as the early policies unfold, especially as inflation continues and the stock market is recovers from a tumble that started in February.
“There are a lot of people who dismissed other claims and comments that he made during the campaign because they expected that his priorities would be in line with things that they wanted,” he told USA TODAY in an interview Thursday, mentioning the economy and inflation as examples. “Now they’re seeing well that might not be the case.”
But crucial to understanding Trump’s approval ratings, Panagopoulos says, is the Republican and Democratic parties, as Trump’s approval ratings come from an already polarized electorate.
While Democrats are fragmented, Republicans are putting forward a “united front” in supporting Trump, according to Panagopoulos.
“At least for now, that might be artificially inflating Trump’s approval numbers overall, but specifically among Republicans,” he said. “People are not going to move away from Trump until they have an alternative they can move towards.”
What recent presidential approval polls are saying
NBC News:
- More respondents disapprove of Trump’s job than approve by a margin of 4 percentage points (Poll conducted March 7-11; 1,000 registered voters; margin of error ±3.1 percentage points).
- The poll found that more respondents today believe the executive and judicial branches have too much power than when asked about the same thing in 2019, according to NBC News.
Economist/YouGov:
- More respondents disapprove of Trump’s job than approve by a margin of 5 percentage points (Poll conducted March 16-18; 1,618 U.S. adults; ±3.4 percentage points).
- Democrats in Congress have become “much less popular in the past few months,” while Republicans in Congress have become more popular, according to YouGov.
- Fifty percent of respondents to the poll somewhat or strongly oppose the recent layoffs of federal workers by the Department of Government Efficiency, compared to 38% who support the layoffs.
Morning Consult:
- Morning Consult’s measure of Trump’s approval ratings have flipped net negative for the first time since he took office, with more respondents disapproving of his job performance (50%) than those who approve (48%). (Poll conducted March 14-16; 2,210 registered voters; margin of error ±2 percentage points.)
- Trump’s approval rating with Morning Consult turned net negative a week later during Trump’s first presidency.
- “More voters than not still approve of Trump’s handling of most issues, with the president receiving his best marks on immigration (55% approval) and national security (52% approve),” Morning Consult states.
RMG Research/Napolitan News Service:
- 54% of respondents either strongly approve or somewhat approve of Trump’s job, compared to 44% who disapprove, strongly or somewhat. (March 6-13; 3,000 registered voters; margin of error ±1.8 percentage points.)
Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.