• Polling

Majority Disapprove of Trump’s Handling of the Presidency and the Economy

Tuesday, May 27, 2025 By Maryann Cousens
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Poll: Perceptions of President Trump

This Navigator Research report covers the latest perceptions of President Trump, including what news Americans are hearing about him and how his policies are seen as contributing to current issues facing the country.

Perceptions of President Trump
 

By 10-points, Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the presidency (44 percent approve – 54 percent disapprove), and disapprove of his handling of the economy by 14-points (42 percent approve – 56 percent disapprove).

  • Independents overwhelmingly disapprove of Trump’s handling of the presidency (33 percent approve – 58 percent disapprove) and disapprove even more of his handling of the economy (31 percent approve – 61 percent disapprove).
  • Though 81 percent of Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, only 60 percent of those identifying as non-MAGA Republicans approve.

Notably, approval of President Trump’s handling of the economy is also split across gender. Trump’s economic approval is 23-points underwater among women and only 4-points underwater among men. Women also express deeper pessimism around the current state of the economy (77 percent negative among women – 62 percent negative among men) and their personal financial situations (60 percent negative among women – 46 percent negative among men).

The News is Negative for Trump


Three quarters of Americans are hearing at least some news about President Trump (76 percent), and 71 percent are hearing at least some negative news about President Trump. The most commonly cited negative news stories are his use of tariffs and his Qatari jet gift. Positive news Americans are hearing also includes his use of tariffs, as well as his trip to the Middle East. 

Trump’s Policies


Among a list of concerns related to current issues facing the country, Americans express the most concern around homelessness (74 percent worried, including 40 percent “very” worried), unsafe food products (67 percent worried, 37 percent “very” worried), extreme weather events (67 percent worried, 34 percent “very” worried), and research into cures for diseases being cut (65 percent worried, 41 percent “very” worried).

When asked which issues President Trump’s policies were contributing to, government workers losing their jobs (74 percent contributing), fewer imports making it to American ports (66 percent contributing), PBS and NPR losing funding (57 percent contributing), and prices rising for things like baby products (55 percent contributing), were seen as the issues his policies were contributing to the most.

The issues facing the country today that Americans are most concerned about and believe President Trump’s policies are contributing most to include: Prices for things like baby products going up, government workers losing their jobs, funding cuts for research into cures for diseases, and fewer imports making it to American ports.

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About The Study

Global Strategy Group conducted a public opinion survey among a sample of 1,000 registered voters from May 15-May 18, 2025. 100 additional interviews were conducted among Hispanic voters. 76 additional interviews were conducted among Asian American and Pacific Islander voters. 100 additional interviews were conducted among African American voters. 100 additional interviews were conducted among independent voters. The survey was conducted online, recruiting respondents from an opt-in online panel vendor. Respondents were verified against a voter file and special care was taken to ensure the demographic composition of our sample matched that of the national registered voter population across a variety of demographic variables. The margin of error for the full sample at the 95 percent level of confidence is +/- 3.1 percentage points. The margin of error for subgroups varies and is higher.

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About Navigator

In a world where the news cycle is the length of a tweet, our leaders often lack the real-time public-sentiment analysis to shape the best approaches to talking about the issues that matter the most. Navigator is designed to act as a consistent, flexible, responsive tool to inform policy debates by conducting research and reliable guidance to inform allies, elected leaders, and the press. Navigator is a project led by pollsters from Global Strategy Group and GBAO along with an advisory committee, including: Andrea Purse, progressive strategist; Arkadi Gerney, The Hub Project; Joel Payne, The Hub Project; Christina Reynolds, EMILY’s List; Delvone Michael, Working Families; Felicia Wong, Roosevelt Institute; Mike Podhorzer, AFL-CIO; Jesse Ferguson, progressive strategist; Navin Nayak, Center for American Progress Action Fund; Stephanie Valencia, EquisLabs; and Melanie Newman, Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

For press inquiries contact: press@navigatorresearch.org