President Donald Trump's approval rating on immigration and government spending has slipped, new AP-NORC poll finds
In fact, the Republican president fails to earn majority approval on any of the issues included in the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. He's even slipped slightly since earlier this year on immigration, which has consistently been a strength for him in his second term.
And while a majority of Americans do see Trump as at least 'somewhat' capable of getting things done following the passage of his sprawling budget bill, fewer believe he understands the problems facing people like them.
Roughly half of U.S. adults report that Trump's policies have 'done more to hurt' them since his second term began six months ago, the survey found. About 2 in 10 say his policies have 'not made a difference' in their lives, with about one-quarter saying his policies have 'done more to help' them.
The vast majority of Democrats and about half of independents say Trump's policies have had a negative impact, while even many Republicans say they haven't seen positive effects.
'As it sits today, I don't know his policies have made much of a difference in my day-to-day life,' said Landon Lindemer, a 29-year-old logistics manager from suburban Atlanta who voted for Trump three times.
Lindemer said he generally approves of Trump's job performance, even if he has concerns about the massive spending in the big bill the president signed into law on July 4.
'I'm not sold it's really going to help,' he said.
The mixed reviews on Trump's policies come as he struggles to follow through on key campaign promises, including lowering costs for working-class Americans, preserving popular social welfare programs like Medicaid, ending foreign wars and lowering government spending.
Inflation rose last month to its highest level since February as Trump's sweeping tariffs push up the cost of everything from groceries and clothes to furniture and appliances. Separately, Trump's budget bill included Medicaid cuts that will lead to 11.8 million more Americans becoming uninsured and add $3.3 trillion to the national debt, the Congressional Budget Office estimated.
At the same time, violent conflicts still rage in Israel and Ukraine.
Overall, the new poll finds that about 4 in 10 U.S. adults approve of Trump's job performance, a figure that's in line with his June approval but historically weak compared with recent presidents. Closer to half of U.S. adults approved of President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama at roughly the same point in their Democratic presidencies, according to polls from AP-NORC and Gallup, although Biden's approval rating declined in the second half of his first year and remained low for the rest of his time in office.
Poll respondent Bailey Neill, a 42-year-old attorney from San Antonio, said he was 'terrified' of Trump.
Neill, a Democrat who describes himself as a 'student of history,' cast Trump as an authoritarian who has followed the controversial playbook outlined in Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for transformative changes across the federal government that Trump tried to distance himself from before the November election.
'In terms of my day-to-day life, I really haven't seen a change, except for the general fear and anxiety I feel at a core level,' Neill said.
Trump earned less than 50% approval on every issue included in the new AP-NORC poll, including the economy, government spending, trade, taxes, immigration, health care and his handling of the conflict in the Middle East.
Only 43% of U.S. adults said they approved of his handling of immigration, down slightly from the 49% who supported his work on the issue back in March.
Trump also appears to have lost some support for his spending decisions. About 4 in 10 Americans approve of Trump's handling of government spending, down from 46% in March.
On the economy overall, roughly 4 in 10 adults approve of Trump's performance, which hasn't changed measurably in the last few months.
Timothy Dwyer, of Dyersburg, Tennessee, a 26-year-old self-described independent who works in retail sales and leans Republican, said Trump's work on the economy, especially his tariffs, has 'really sucked.'
'He's turned us into a toilet and has absolutely made us the laughing stock of the world,' Dwyer said of Trump's trade policies, while also lamenting the president's work on reducing grocery prices and health care.
Despite such criticism, most U.S. adults think Trump is at least somewhat effective.
About 6 in 10 say 'capable of getting things done' describes Trump at least 'somewhat' well. And about half of U.S. adults say the same about the phrases 'good negotiator' or 'capable of handling a crisis.'
That doesn't mean they believe Trump can see things from their perspective.
Most Americans, 56%, say 'understands the problems facing people like you' is a phrase that describes Trump 'not very well' or 'not well at all.' His numbers on the question are relatively weak even among those in his party: Just about half of Republicans say he understands the problems facing people like them 'extremely' or 'very' well.
'I think he's doing quite well. He could be doing a hell of a lot worse,' said poll respondent Levi Fischer, of Marshalltown, Iowa, who voted for Trump three times.
Still, Fischer acknowledged that he hasn't seen the economy improve as quickly as he hoped. Trump's policies, he said, 'don't make much difference in my life.'
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7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
This family self-deported to Mexico, and lost everything
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They began to cry quietly, afraid Carlos and Naomi would hear them as they played on the floor in the bedroom they all shared. The kids had been allowed to stay up late, so that Coria and Leon could watch the results come in. The family's account is based on interviews with Leon, Coria and NGOs that helped them on their return to Mexico. Reuters was not able to verify all details of their journey, but core facts were supported by photos, videos, messages, and customs documents the family shared. As the Trump administration vows to enact the "largest deportation operation in American history," authorities have raided workplaces, sent alleged Venezuelan gang members to a notorious prison in El Salvador, and deployed National Guard and active-duty Marines to contain anti-government protests in Los Angeles. Beyond the 239,000 people the administration has deported so far, some cuffed and led on to planes, the very public expulsion of migrants has had another effect: triggering tough and complicated decisions in immigrant households across the U.S. on whether to stay or leave. As they discussed returning to Mexico, Leon set one condition: That they wait until after Trump took office on January 20, to save up some more money and to see if he proved as hardline on migration as he'd promised. In the end, fear led them to leave before Trump had even been sworn in. 'PROJECT HOMECOMING' Despite high-profile deportations to Guantanamo or El Salvador, the total number of deportations under Trump trails former President Joe Biden's last year in office. Increasingly, persuading migrants to leave of their own accord has become a core strategy. "Self-deportation is safe," reads a DHS flyer on display at immigration courts in the U.S. "Leave on your own terms by picking your departure flight." The Trump administration in March launched an app called CBP Home designed to help people relocate and in May, Trump unveiled "Project Homecoming," a sweeping initiative that offers "illegal aliens" $1,000 and a free flight to leave. Since then, "tens of thousands of illegal aliens" self-deported through CBP Home app, a Department of Homeland Security official told Reuters, without giving further details. More than 56,000 Mexicans have voluntarily returned from the U.S. since Trump returned to the White House, according to Mexican government figures. Figures from last year were unavailable. Self-deportation is not a new idea. During the Great Depression and again in 1954's Operation Wetback, U.S. deportation campaigns pressured over a million Mexicans and Mexican-Americans to leave - far more than through formal deportations. 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Yahoo
7 minutes ago
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Donald Trump seen golfing at start of five day private visit to Scotland
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8 minutes ago
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The Tribune's Quotes of the Week quiz for July 26
It was another hot and humid week in Chicago. With dangerous heat engulfing the city, residents again turned to box fans and AC units for relief from the soaring temps — that is despite recent spikes in electric costs. The heat subsided only to welcome thunderstorms that knocked out power for 50,000 ComEd customers. But it wasn't all doom and gloom this week. After years of construction, four North Side Red Line stations reopened Sunday, and in some good news for homeowners, Mayor Brandon Johnson said he won't seek a property tax hike in his upcoming budget proposal. Gov. JB Pritzker, along with 17 other Democratic governors, petitioned the Trump administration to release nearly $7 billion in withheld federal education grants. On Friday, the Department of Education did just that. But local education leaders are still struggling with their own funding problems. At Thursday's Chicago Board of Education meeting, Chief Budget Officer Michael Sitkowski reiterated that Chicago Public Schools has identified $165 million in spending reductions, including cuts to its administrative staff and vendor contracts, but the district is still searching for a solution to its $734 million budget deficit. Two of the four defendants in the 'ComEd Four' case were sentenced this week. Ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore and the utility's former lobbyist Michael McClain will spend two years in prison for their part in the elaborate scheme to bribe then-House Speaker Michael Madigan. New Tribune reporting shows arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are up in Chicago since President Donald Trump took office, and local children recently received deportation letters from the Department of Homeland Security. Meanwhile, on Friday, a federal judge in Chicago blocked the Trump administration's challenge over sanctuary policies in the state of Illinois. In global news, the United States cut short ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas on Thursday, while hunger and malnutrition surges in Gaza. France also announced this week that the country will recognize Palestine as a state. Three big names in the world of celebrity and entertainment passed away this week. Malcolm-Jamal Warner, the 54-year-old actor best known for his role as teenage son Theo Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show,' died in an accidental drowning Sunday in Costa Rica. Ozzy Osbourne, lead singer of Black Sabbath and godfather of heavy metal, died at the age of 76, just weeks after his farewell show. And professional wrestling legend Hulk Hogan died Thursday after suffering cardiac arrest. He was 71. Plus, the Chicago Cubs and White Sox play each other in this weekend's City Series at Rate Field. It's a matchup with stakes for both teams, as the Sox come off their best roadtrip since September 2022 and the Cubs just dropped from first place in their division. That's it for the headlines! Now here's the Tribune's Quotes of the Week quiz for July 20 to 26. Missed last week? You can find it here or check out our past editions of Quotes of the Week.
