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The survey showed his popularity higher than it was throughout most of his 2017-2021 term
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Some 47% of Americans approved of Donald Trump’s presidency as he returned to the White House this week, a sign of a polarized nation following the Republican’s victory in November, a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Tuesday found.
The survey, conducted on Monday and Tuesday following President Trump’s inauguration, showed his popularity higher than it was throughout most of his 2017-2021 term.
But the poll also showed that Americans were already sour on some of his first moves. Some 58% of respondents said that Trump should not pardon all people convicted of crimes during the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol.
Trump essentially did just that – pardoning most of the nearly 1,600 people charged with joining the siege, while ending the sentences of 14 leaders of the siege – hours into his second term in office, while the poll was being conducted.
Just 29% of respondents approved of how Trump was handling perceived politicization of the justice system. Trump accused his predecessor, Joe Biden, of bending the scales of justice with prosecutions meant to stop Trump from returning to office, charges that the Democrat has denied. He has also said he may use the justice system to seek retribution against his political rivals.
Respondents looked more warmly on Trump’s approach to other issues. Some 46% of respondents approved of his job handling immigration, an issue many Americans would like to see as the new administration’s top priority.
Some 58% of respondents agreed with a statement that the United States should “dramatically reduce the number of migrants allowed to claim asylum at the border,” signaling apparent support for Trump’s early actions in office to suspend a procedure allowing asylum applications at the US border. Trump also declared illegal immigration a national emergency and took steps to restrict citizenship for children born on US soil.
Trump won the 2024 election by beating Democrat Kamala Harris 312 to 226 in the US Electoral College, though he got just 49.8% of the national popular vote to Harris’ 48.3%.
The poll results amount to something of a reset for Trump, who started his first presidential term with 43% approval – a figure that rose to 49% by the end of January 2017 – but ended with 34% approving of his performance after the Capitol siege, an attempt to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
Trump’s rating was low by historical standards, said Jacob Rubashkin, a political analyst at Inside Elections. US presidents typically start their term with approval ratings above 50%. “Yes, it’s positive for Trump, but it’s roughly in line with what we saw in the first term – a historically low approval rating at the outset of a presidency,” Rubashkin said.
The new poll surveyed 1,077 US adults online and nationwide. It had a margin of error of about 4 percentage points in each direction.
Much like Biden, who left office on Monday, Trump’s popularity held below 45% for most of his first term, dipping to as low as 33% in December 2017. Both leaders failed to persistently win the approval of people outside their parties and in the latest survey, 91% of Republicans approved of Trump’s leadership and 84% of Democrats rejected it.
Biden started his presidency with 55% approval but the rating quickly turned downward. It bottomed out at 35% on the eve of the November election, with the Democrat’s unpopularity widely seen as a boost for Trump’s election campaign.
LITTLE AMERICAN APPETITE FOR GREENLAND
Trump’s return to power raises the possibility of significant shake-ups in America’s relations with its neighbours and the wider world, but the poll results point to little support for his plans to expand US territory or to enact tariffs that might fuel higher prices.
Only 16% of poll respondents agreed with a statement that the US should pressure Denmark into selling Greenland to the US.
Trump has said as recently as this week that the US needs to control Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, to ensure international security. Denmark and Greenland have said the giant island is not for sale.
Some 29% of respondents said the US should retake control of the Panama Canal from Panama, another of Trump’s international objectives. The United States ceded final control of the strategic waterway to Panama in 1999, but Trump has accused Panama of ceding its operation to China – claims that the Panamanian government has vehemently denied.
Just 21% of poll respondents said they agreed with a statement that the United States has a right to expand its territory in the Western Hemisphere.
Trump appears to be focused more on satisfying his most ardent followers than on the general public, said John Geer, a public opinion expert at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Some 38% of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they identified at least a little with Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.
Geer said Trump appears to be following the historical norm in which second term presidents put added focus on their legacy rather than on popular opinion, adding, “His honeymoon will surely be short and he should make the most of it.”
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