What a difference four years can make.
Polls are showing Donald Trump’s early moves in office are yielding the highest approval ratings of either of his terms in the White House, a stark change from when he left office in early 2021 with the lowest support in his presidential career.
Overall, 53 percent of respondents approved of the job Trump was doing, according to a CBS News / YouGov poll conducted in early February.
The results of the poll, which come with a plus or minus 2.5 percent error margin, mark not only a greater share of support than Trump’s slice of the 2024 popular vote, but also a huge change from 2021, when he left office with just over 33 percent approval on a separate poll.
Other measures have shown a similar second-term surge in support.
Gallup found in late January that Trump had a 47 percent approval rating, the highest he’d ever scored in their polls.
The polling also suggests voters are supportive of key parts of the Trump agenda.
On immigration, where Trump is hoping to carrying out a mass expulsion and deport millions, 59 percent of respondents to the CBS poll approved, while a more modest 54 percent approved of Trump’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
There were some warning signs for the White House, however.
While people supported tariffs on China, similar levies on Mexico, Europe, and Canada did not garner majority approval in the CBS poll.
And two-thirds of respondents to the poll said that the administration isn’t dedicating enough focus to lowering prices for household goods, a key promise on the campaign trail.
As for the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutting initiative with Elon Musk, responses were mixed along partisan lines.
Overall, the statement that Elon Musk and the department should have no influence on government spending and operations was the most popular, with 31 percent support, while 23 percent and 28 percent blocks said Musk should have “a lot” or “some” influence in these areas.
Democrats were especially opposed, with nearly half saying Musk should have no influence, while Republicans were highly in favor, with 30 percent saying he should have great influence.
Despite its flurry of early days executive actions and attempted spending cuts, the administration may hit another roadblock if its agenda can’t survive scrutiny in the courts, where its battling dozens of lawsuits over key priorities like ending birthright citizenship and eliminating protections for trans people.
