While a majority of Americans approve of Trump’s plans, the partisan divide remains large

A majority of Americans support President-elect Donald Trump’s overall agenda, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. 

As the President-elect assembles his cabinet and other appointments, which are being called “ideologically diverse” and a team of rivals, the poll found that 53% of Americans “somewhat” or “strongly” approve of the president-elect’s agenda, while 46% disapprove, according to the New York Post.  

While the approval was by no means universal, majorities larger than what Trump received of the popular vote approve of his stated policy agenda, his mental acuity and his ability to make good decisions. For example, nearly 60% of respondents said they were confident about him making good decisions on economic policy, and 54% expressed confidence in him on the issues of law enforcement and criminal justice. 

Clearly the support and opposition broke along party lines, with 88% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents approving and 82% of Democrats and Democratic leaners disapproving.      

It also appears that following his third straight run for the White House, Americans, as reflected on Pew’s “feeling thermometer,” are more inclined toward giving Trump a “warm” rating. He got a “warm” or “very warm” rating from 43% of the respondents, compared to 36% after the 2016 election and 34% after the 2020 election.  

Only 14% of respondents expect partisan relations to improve. 

The survey was conducted among 9,609 adults from Nov. 12 to 17, 2024.