Three months into his second term, President Donald Trump reached the highest approval rating of his presidency, while more Americans believe the country is on the right track than at any point since 2004, according to a new NBC News poll released Sunday.
However, the bad news is that Trump still has not garnered the support of a majority of Americans. In fact, 54% of respondents disapprove of his handling of the economy, marking the first time he has lost a majority on this issue in NBC’s polling.
“Even so, the survey found that voters generally feel Trump is bringing ‘the right kind of change’ on the key issues — even tariffs,” the New York Post reported, citing the NBC News survey. “More Americans support his changes to trade policy (41%) than oppose them (38%), according to NBC.”
NBC poll respondents seem to be giving Trump some leeway on inflation: 40% said his policies are having a positive effect, while 30% believe they’re having a negative impact, and 28% feel Trump’s policies aren’t making any difference, The Post said.
The poll also highlights how Trump remains a polarizing figure, with his approval rating among Republicans at a solid 90%, compared to just 4% among Democrats. This marks the largest gap in approval ratings between a president’s own party and the opposition party in the past 80 years, according to NBC.
Overall, 47% of voters approve of Trump, while 51% disapprove, marking an all-time high in the poll. He had previously reached 47% approval in early 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, and again in October 2018.
NBC’s findings align with most other polling, with RealClearPolitics’ latest aggregate showing Trump with an average 48.2% approval rating, The Post noted.
Trump’s approval is notably higher than it was at this stage in his first term (44%), according to RCP, though still below where former President Joe Biden stood at the same point (53%).
In a positive sign for Trump, NBC News also found that 44% of registered voters believe the country is on the right track, the highest in two decades, while 54% feel it’s heading in the wrong direction.
While still largely pessimistic, this marks the most optimistic outlook on the country’s direction in the poll since President George W. Bush was in office 20 years ago.
This represents a dramatic shift from the previous administration. Last September, only 28% of polled voters told NBC News they believed the country was on the right track, while 65% felt it was headed in the wrong direction.
One of Trump’s most significant actions in his second term was the establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a move that has sparked protests from government workers and strong criticism from Democrats.
While the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) remains unpopular (47% negative to 41% positive), voters generally view it as a good idea, with 46% in favor and 40% against, The Post’s report continued.
Trump has firmly supported DOGE and Elon Musk despite political backlash over the cost-cutting initiative, which aims to reduce the federal deficit.
In a notable positive for Trump, the favorability of Democrats is at a dismal 27%, with 55% holding a negative view of the party, marking the lowest ratings for Democrats in NBC News’ polling history.
A similar result was found in a CNN poll, which also recorded the lowest favorability rating for Democrats in its polling history, with only 29% viewing the party favorably, said The Post.
Voters also expressed skepticism about the media’s coverage of Trump, with 46% saying it has been too critical, 25% believing it’s been too supportive, and 24% approving of the media’s approach.
The NBC News survey sampled 1,000 registered voters between March 7 and 11, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.