A majority of Americans have a gloomy view of the U.S.’s trajectory under Donald Trump’s administration as the president approaches the 100-day mark of his second term, a new national survey suggests.
Some 60 percent believe that the country is “seriously off on the wrong track,” according to a poll released Tuesday from the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center. The question is used across major polling organizations to capture public sentiment about where they believe the nation is headed.
Fifty-four percent of respondents believe that, a year from now, the U.S. economy will be in a worse position than it is currently.
Trust in the Supreme Court, the highest court in the federal judiciary, has hit a steep decline, falling sharply from 68 percent in 2019 to just 41 percent today, according to the survey. It marks a continued decline since the court’s landmark ruling to overturn Roe V. Wade in 2022, per APPC’s polling.
It comes amid an intensifying battle between Trump and the legislative branch, which has intervened to block a string of his administration’s executive orders and obstruct the president’s agenda.
Trump’s initial months in office have seen him attempt to boost his power, using dozens of executive orders to target government departments, as well as universities and law firms.
Thirty-two percent of respondents said they have “no trust at all” in the High Court.
The Supreme Court, however, remains a more trusted symbol of authority than the president (40 percent), elected officials (36 percent) and Congress (32 percent). Per the polling, Americans express the greatest trust in medical scientists and the military, at 73 percent and 72 percent respectively.
Despite waning support for the Supreme Court, the electorate continues to support a system of checks and balances.
“Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike believe that the courts and Congress should be able to check the president’s actions,” Matt Levendusky, director of APPC’s Institutions of Democracy division, said of the 1,360 American citizens surveyed between March 6 to March 16.
Two-thirds—66 percent—of Americans said that presidents should not ignore court rulings, even if they are at odds with their own agendas. Among GOP voters surveyed, 27 percent believe it is okay for presidents to ignore court rulings.
It comes as Trump’s overall approval rating sank this week to the lowest level since commencing his second term amid Americans’ concerns about his attempts to expand his power.
The poll, conducted by Reuters/Ipsos over six days and closing on Monday, found that just 42 percent approved of Trump's performance as president, compared to 43 percent three weeks prior. Following his second inauguration, his approval rating stood at 47 percent.
Just 37 percent approved of Trump’s economic handling as the president conceded that ultra-high tariffs on China would fall but warned they would not hit zero.
Out of the 4,306 respondents—that includes 73 percent of Republicans and 96 percent of Democrats—83 percent said that the president must obey court orders that he disagrees with.
Despite Trump’s slumping favorability, only two percent of voters said they regret their vote and would vote differently if they had the chance, according to a recent University of Massachusetts Amherst/YouGov poll.
And MAGA populism is surging among Republican voters, according to NBC News polling last week.
More than a third of registered American voters surveyed in March identified themselves as followers of Trump’s Make America Great Again movement.
