Muhamad Yehia.. Cairo
It’s been over two months since Donald Trump retook office. Perceptions of his performance are mixed, especially when compared with his first term. About half of adults approve of how Trump is handling immigration, exceeding his approval on the issue during his first term. But 40% approve of his handling of the economy, dropping to its lowest level since December of 2017.
Trump’s overall job approval is essentially the same as it was when he took office for the first time in 2017, though lower than Joe Biden’s at the beginning of his term.
Around 40% of the public support Trump’s handling of the federal government, trade negotiations with other countries, the conflicts between Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine, and Social Security.
Partisans tend to fall along party lines when evaluating Trump’s performance overall and on specific issues. Republicans overwhelmingly support Trump’s policies while Democrats largely oppose them. Among Republicans, Trump’s weakest area is trade negotiations, with 27% disapproving. Among Democrats, his strongest issue is immigration, with 18% approving his approach.
More adults believe the country is headed in the right direction than during Biden’s final week in office two months ago.
With control of Congress and the White House, 74% of Republicans think the country is headed in the right direction and a quarter feel it’s headed in the wrong direction. Republicans are significantly more optimistic about the nation’s trajectory than Democrats or independents. The outlook of Republicans has improved compared with Biden’s last weeks in office, while Democrats have become less optimistic.
Around 7 in 10 describe the state of the economy as poor. This level of negativity has remained unchanged since the final weeks of Biden’s presidency in December of 2024, the last time this question was asked. It’s also similar to the level at the beginning of Biden’s first term in office.
Since Biden’s last month in office, Democrats and Republicans have shifted in opposite directions on the economy. Republicans view the economy more positively compared to December 2024. Still, half view it negatively—similar to Democrats’ sentiments at that time. Democrats have lost confidence, with a large majority now calling the economy poor.
Adults under 45 are more pessimistic about the direction of the country (70% v. 54%) and its economy (79% v. 63%) than those 45 or older.
Trump and Elon Musk’s favorability ratings both sit close to 40%. Similar partisan divides exist in views of each.
The nationwide poll was conducted March 20-24, 2025 using the AmeriSpeak® Panel, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,229 adults. The overall margin of sampling error is +/- 3.9 percentage points.
- Suggested Citation: AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. “Trump scores better marks with the public on immigration than the economy” (March 2025) https://apnorc.org/projects/trump-scores-better-marks-with-the-public-on-immigration-than-the-economy/
