For the first time in nearly two decades of asking, a majority of voters believe the country is moving in the “right direction” under President Donald Trump.
According to a Rasmussen Reports survey conducted May 18–22 and released Sunday, 48% of Americans said the U.S. is on the “right track,” while 47% said it is on the “wrong track,” and 5% were “not sure.”
Mark Mitchell of Rasmussen put the numbers in context, saying, “In 20 years, the % of people who say the U.S. is headed in the right direction has never been higher than today.”
The pollster has been conducting its “right track/wrong track” surveys since 2006.
Savvy observers—and critics of the administration—were quick to point out that 48% isn’t technically a majority, which requires at least 50%. A search for “Rasmussen Right Direction” on X shows many users, including Grok, making that exact point.
But on Tuesday, the pollster posted an update: “Rolling average of last night and prior 4-nights” hit the “uncharted territory” of 50%.
Update: Right Direction Just In
Rolling average of last night and prior 4-nights
Uncharted Territory https://t.co/ZlNj0PLrcK pic.twitter.com/K1fZgfbKTG
— Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) May 27, 2025
Fifty percent say America is headed in the right direction, and that includes 31 percent of self-described Democrats, the pollster noted.
“Never thought I would see it,” Mitchell told the Washington Examiner. “I don’t think the Republican Party understands the gravity of the gift which [President Donald] Trump has given them. Unprecedented presidency.”
RealClearPolitics is also reporting a dramatic shift toward optimism.
In November 2024, 63% of respondents said the country was on the wrong track, while only 26% believed it was on the right track, a 37-point gap. Today, those numbers have narrowed to 51% on the wrong track versus 44% on the right track, a seven-point difference representing a 30-point swing in just a few months.
While not addressing the poll directly, Trump on Monday offered his own enthusiastic assessment of the nation’s direction, noting on his Truth Social page:
“Our Nation is staging one if the greatest and fastest comebacks in history. In just 4 short months, we are respected again, respected like never before, and just wait, with many Trillions of Dollars of Investment in Plants and Factories, until you see the numbers on GROWTH. This is, indeed, THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA!!!”
Other changes are being made throughout Trump’s new administration that were a long time coming.
FBI Director Dan Bongino has revealed, for instance, that the bureau is implementing “important cultural changes” since his and Director Kash Patel’s arrival.
“The accountability process is ongoing as we move disciplined, and focused, leaders into critical positions in the field. And, we are removing employees who have violated their oaths, and those who invited partisanship into the workplace. The process is ongoing, and will not stop,” Bongino wrote in a post on X.
“Yes, as reported, we are making changes to the hiring process, the physical fitness requirements, and we are also looking at ways to enhance our defensive tactics training,” he added.
Bongino said he and Patel said they want the FBI agent component of the bureau to have the “physical skill set to de-escalate when necessary,” particularly for “when encounters can quickly turn into life or death scenarios.”
“We are also working on an enhanced compliance process to ensure many of the mistakes of the past are never repeated,” Bongino wrote on X.
“Both the Director and I have had multiple meetings on this topic and we are working on substantive changes to current procedures. We must be held accountable, both internally to management, and externally to the people we work for, given the gravity of our responsibilities,” he added.
This comes as Patel said last week that “the FBI concealed investigations for then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton,” as he pushes for more transparency within the bureau to rebuild trust among Americans.