Americans, Including Republicans, Lose Faith in Trump’s Leadership Amidst Sharp Poll Declines

In a revealing political milestone, new polling shows that Americans — including a meaningful share of Republicans — are rapidly losing faith in Donald Trump’s presidency during the early months of his second term. Surveys released this week by major outlets reveal plummeting approval ratings across key issues, from the economy to immigration, accompanied by growing concerns that Trump is exceeding his constitutional authority and focusing on the wrong national priorities.

According to a new survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, only 24% of Americans believe Trump is focusing on the right priorities. A majority of respondents, including independents and a notable segment of Republicans, characterized his presidency so far as “scary,” highlighting a stark erosion of trust within months of his return to office.

These dismal numbers coincide with Trump’s approach to his 100th day in office, traditionally seen as a major symbolic benchmark for presidential effectiveness. Historically, presidents enjoy a “honeymoon” period marked by broad public support. Trump, however, faces an inverted reality: more than half of American voters now disapprove of his performance, and majorities oppose many of his signature policies.

Economic approval, typically a stronghold for Republican presidents, has cratered. The Times survey found only 43% of voters approve of Trump’s handling of the economy — a sharp collapse from 64% approval at a comparable point during his first term. Disapproval of his trade policies is also widespread: 50% of voters oppose Trump’s approach to tariffs, and 61% say that a president should not have the unilateral authority to impose tariffs without congressional approval.

On immigration, which has been a central pillar of Trump’s political brand, the erosion is similarly severe. A Washington Post-ABC-Ipsos poll released Friday reports that 53% of Americans now disapprove of Trump’s handling of immigration — reversing February’s numbers, when he still enjoyed slight majority support. The dissatisfaction transcends party lines: 90% of Democrats, 56% of independents, and even 11% of Republicans now disapprove of Trump’s immigration policies.

The sentiment against Trump’s immigration measures has been intensified by recent high-profile deportations, including chilling cases involving documented immigrants and even U.S. citizen children, drawing national outrage and judicial scrutiny.

Trump’s broader exercise of executive power has also become a flashpoint. The Associated Press reported significant unease about Trump’s expanding use of executive authority to shape trade and immigration policy without congressional consultation. Particularly striking is the finding that 63% of Americans — including 40% of Republicans — oppose giving a president the ability to deport legal immigrants who have engaged in political protest, a policy Trump has reportedly floated internally.

The cumulative result is a portrait of a presidency in early peril: an unpopular leader whose aggressive policies and governance style have sparked alarm across traditional partisan divides. While Trump retains deep loyalty among his most fervent base, the broader American electorate appears to be growing fatigued, disillusioned, and in some cases openly fearful of the direction his administration is taking the country.

The political implications are profound. Trump’s sagging approval ratings could weaken Republican prospects in the 2026 midterm elections, where control of Congress — and the possibility of restraining Trump’s executive agenda — will be at stake. Furthermore, the decline among independent voters, a group that helped fuel Trump’s initial return to office, suggests a volatile electorate that could turn sharply against him if current trends continue.

At a deeper level, these polls illuminate a core instability in Trump’s second presidency: an erosion of legitimacy not solely driven by partisan attacks, but by widespread perception that his priorities are misaligned with the needs and values of the broader American public.

As Trump prepares to mark his 100th day back in office, the question looming over Washington is no longer simply whether he can fulfill his policy ambitions. It is whether his leadership can retain enough public confidence to sustain itself at all.