Americans have mixed feelings about President Donald Trump’s overall agenda now that he has started his second term in office, according to a recent poll.
As Trump prepares to ramp up his agenda, The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs published the results of a survey showing that Americans are divided on issues such as mass deportations, climate change policy, tariffs, pardons for January 6 participants, and others.
When it comes to immigration, Americans overwhelmingly favor deporting those convicted of violent crimes.
Trump’s proposal for large-scale deportations garners significant support when targeting immigrants convicted of violent crimes. However, deporting non-criminal immigrants remains unpopular. Researchers found that 80 percent support this policy, while 70 percent support deporting even legal immigrants who are convicted of violent offenses.
However, only 40 percent favor deporting illegal immigrants who have not committed violent crimes.
This suggests that most Americans are united in their belief that the government should remove illegals who have committed violent offenses. However, they are split on how the government should approach individuals who have not committed other crimes after entering the country illegally.
🚨 #BREAKING: President Trump has now begun FIRING immigration judges and senior immigration leadership, “stunning officials,” per NYT and CNN
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) January 21, 2025
GOOD! Trump is rebuilding the broken immigration system from the ground up at BREAKNECK speed! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/rNbW3s2Qgr
One of Trump’s key campaign promises involved imposing tariffs on other nations for a variety of reasons, including trade deficits, and others. About 50 percent of respondents opposed this idea while 30 percent supported it. A quarter of respondents remained neutral.
Those supporting the measure include a little over half of Republicans while about four in 10 oppose it. Independents and Democrats were more likely to reject the policy over concerns about continued inflation.
Trump is talking about ending the income tax in his inaugural address. Incredible.
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) January 20, 2025
“Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.” pic.twitter.com/rTC4OubUkq
President Trump on Monday pardoned nearly 1,500 of those convicted for participating in the January 6 riot at the United States Capitol building. The move was met with criticism from folks on both sides of the aisle.
The AP-NORC poll showed that about 20 percent supported the pardons while 60 percent opposed them. Even among Republicans, only 40 percent wished to see the J6ers pardoned, with 30 percent opposing this move.
Promises Made, Promises Kept…
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 21, 2025
And we are only just starting 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
President Trump has just signed an executive order granting full pardons to about 1,500 J6 prisoners! pic.twitter.com/W5iJh3jjXx
Americans are also hesitant about backing Trump’s plan to increase America’s energy production by expanding offshore drilling. About 33 percent favor the policy, with 40 percent rejecting it and 25 percent indicating they did not have an opinion either way.
Trump also withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Accords, an agreement between developed nations to lower their carbon footprints. Trump once again withdrew from the agreements, a move he took during his first term in office. Former President Joe Biden rejoined the accord shortly after taking office in 2021.
The poll found that 50 percent wished to remain in the Paris Climate Accords, while 20 percent agreed with Trump's withdrawal from the agreement. Again, 25 percent indicated they did not have a firm opinion on the matter.
The Trump Administration just announced the U.S. will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord.
— John Stossel (@JohnStossel) January 20, 2025
Here’s why that is the right thing: pic.twitter.com/PjwF2XbWFk
At first glance, it might appear that Americans reject much of the president’s agenda. But the fact that 25 percent indicated they did not have an opinion either way on many of his policies suggests there is room to win these folks over.
For example, many Americans are skeptical about his plan to use tariffs to drive domestic manufacturing. If Trump leverages this policy in a way that lowers prices on groceries and other crucial goods, then there will be fewer people opposing it.
It is also worth noting that issues like the Paris Climate Accord and drilling for oil are not top priorities for most voters, so the opposition to Trump’s approach to these issues might not be as critical for Americans evaluating his presidency.
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