As Donald Trump approaches the 100-day mark of his second term, new surveys and a wave of protests show growing dissatisfaction with his leadership and policies. A new Pew Research Center survey shows 40% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, a decline of seven points since February. Fifty-nine percent disapprove of his administration’s tariff increases, while 39% approve. Conducted April 7-13 among 3,589 adults on Pew’s American Trends Panel, the survey found that 51% believe Trump is setting too much policy through executive orders.
It also found bipartisan agreement that the administration must end an action ruled illegal by a federal court, with 78% agreeing, rising to 88% if ruled by the Supreme Court. Other polls conducted in April show similar approval ratings. The NBC News Stay Tuned Poll, conducted April 11-20 among 19,682 adults, found 45% approval and 55% disapproval. Among Republicans, 88% approve of Trump’s job performance; 12% disapprove.
Among independents, 68% disapprove, and among Democrats, 93% disapprove. CNBC’s All-America Economic Survey recorded a 44% approval and 51% disapproval. Fox News recorded 44% approval and 55% disapproval. Gallup reported 44% approval and 53% disapproval. ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos recorded Trump’s lowest approval at 39%, while CBS News/YouGov found his highest at 47%.
Trump’s average Gallup approval of 45% remains below the post-World War II presidential average of 59%. At this point in 2021, Joe Biden’s Gallup approval stood at 56%. Support for Trump remains strongest among older Americans, white Americans, and those with lower education levels. Younger voters, highly educated voters, and nonwhite voters — especially Black Americans — are more likely to disapprove. Forty-five percent of Americans believe the economy will worsen over the next year, compared to 36% who expect improvement. Confidence in Trump’s economic leadership has fallen to 45%, the lowest in Pew’s surveys since 2019.
On immigration, 48% express confidence. Half of Americans believe Trump’s policies are weakening U.S. standing in the world, with 38% saying they are strengthening it. Meanwhile, workers, immigrants, students, and families are planning rallies in over 340 cities on May 1 to protest what they call the “billionaire agenda.” Organizers demand full funding for public schools, healthcare, housing, protection of critical programs like Medicaid and Social Security, and union protections for all workers. “When we’re told we can afford Elon’s greed, but we can’t afford libraries in schools, we clearly have it backward,” said Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union Local 1.
Neidi Dominguez Zamorano, executive director of Organized Power in Numbers, added, “On May Day, we will remind this government who makes this country run every day. We do.”
Saqib Bhatti, executive director of Bargaining for the Common Good, offered that business as usual will not continue while people disappear off the street, the government slashes critical services and takes away individual freedoms.
Jessica Tang, president of the Massachusetts Federation of Teachers, said, “As we face continued attacks on workers, immigrants, and our democratic principles, it carries extra weight this year as we take action to save our democracy and make it better.”
Greg Nammacher, president of SEIU Local 26 in Minneapolis, also sounded off. “At work, it’s real simple: when immigrants and US-born workers stand together, we win,” Nammacher said. “When we don’t, we lose. That is why together we march on May 1.”
Further, Liz Perlman, the executive director for AFSCME 3299, called the past 100 days “a corrupt assault on frontline public service workers and our most vulnerable neighbors, seeking to concentrate more wealth and power in the hands of a small group of wanna-be oligarchs at our expense.”
PEN America also released a report detailing what it called a sweeping assault on free expression during Trump’s first 100 days, citing dozens of executive actions targeting diversity programs, immigration, education, and the press. “If free speech is the bedrock of democracy, fear and paranoia lay the groundwork for authoritarianism,” PEN America wrote.
