President Donald Trump took to social media on Monday, to showcase the speed at which he’s acted during the first two and a half months of his second administration.
‘107 executive orders signed in 67 days, more than any in American history,’ the president wrote in a social media post.
Trump has been expanding the powers of the presidency, as he has upended long-standing government policy and made major cuts to the federal workforce through an avalanche of executive orders and actions.
While Trump repeatedly touts his performance steering the nation, the latest public opinion polling suggests Americans may not be so pleased with the job he’s doing as president.
Trump stands at 42% approval and 56% disapproval in an AP/NORC released on Monday that questioned adults nationwide March 20-24.
That’s slightly lower than a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted March 21-23, which indicated the president at 45%-51% approval/disapproval.
Trump’s numbers were slightly higher in the most recent Fox News national poll, which was in the field March 14-17. Americans appeared divided on the job the president was doing, with 49% approval and 51% disapproval.
An average of all the most recent national polls that asked the presidential approval question indicates that Trump’s approval ratings are slightly in negative territory. Trump has seen his numbers edge down slightly since the start of his second term, when an average of his polls indicated the president’s approval rating in the low 50s and his disapproval in the mid-40s.
Contributing to the slide, the economy and jitters that Trump’s tariffs on America’s top trading partners will spark further inflation, which was a pressing issue that kept former President Joe Biden’s approval ratings well below water for most of his presidency.
Only 40% of those questioned in the AP/NORC poll gave the president a thumbs up on the job he’s doing steering the economy, with 58% saying they disapprove.
And Trump stood at 38% approval and 60% disapproval on how he’s handling trade negotiations with other countries. A slew of Trump’s proposed tariffs are expected to go into effect on Tuesday.
Inflation was arguably the top issue that boosted Trump to victory in last November’s presidential election, and it remains critical to his political fortunes.
‘If prices remain high, he’s going to have trouble,’ warned Daron Shaw, a politics professor and chair at the University of Texas who serves as a member of the Fox News Decision Team and is the Republican partner on the Fox News poll.
But the AP/NORC does have some good news for the president. It’s the latest survey to indicate an increase in the percentage of Americans who are optimistic about the direction of the country.
Thirty-eight percent of those questioned said the country’s headed in the right direction, up from 28% in January at the end of Biden’s term in the White House. The jump is mostly fueled by a 34% surge in Republicans saying the country’s headed on the right track.
According to the poll, Trump’s favorable rating is underwater at 42%-54% favorable/unfavorable.
As with his approval rating, there’s a massive but expected partisan divide.
But Trump’s favorable ratings are superior to Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and Tesla and Space X chief executive, and White House advisor whose controversial moves downsizing the federal government as he steers the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have grabbed tons of attention.
According to the poll, Musk’s favorable rating stands at 36%, with 55% seeing him in an unfavorable light.