As Inauguration Day approaches, President-elect Donald Trump receives his highest favorable rating and half of registered voters approve of his handling of the transition.
As Inauguration Day approaches, President-elect Donald Trump receives his highest favorable rating and half of registered voters approve of his handling of the presidential transition. Still, a majority does not view his election win as a mandate, and more think it was a rejection of the outgoing administration rather than an endorsement of Trump.
The latest Fox News Poll, released Wednesday, finds that by a 13-point margin more voters view Trump’s victory as a referendum on Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s policies and performance (54%) than a validation of Trump’s (41%). That includes 71% of Democrats, 64% of independents, and 34% of Republicans saying it was more of a rejection.
Overall, 52% approve of Trump’s handling of the transition while 46% disapprove, a reversal from 2017 when just 37% approved and 54% disapproved. Nonwhites (+26 points), voters under age 30 (+18), voters with a college degree (+17), Republicans (+16), and independents (+15) are among those with a more positive view this time around. Even approval among Democrats is up 8 points.
While Trump describes his 2024 win as a mandate, a slim 51% majority disagrees. Some 4 in 10 (42%) call it a mandate, including 69% of Trump supporters (81% of Harris supporters said it wasn’t).
FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS VIEW 2024 NEGATIVELY BUT HAVE HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
At the same time, there is popular backing for some policy proposals the president-elect has discussed. Voters overwhelmingly support the deportation of either all illegal immigrants (30%) or at least those accused of crimes (59%).
Majorities favor ending Daylight Saving Time (62% favor) as well as extending the 2017 tax reform law (54% favor). Smaller numbers support taking over the Panama Canal (42% favor), imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico to influence immigration policy (42% favor) and investigating those who prosecuted Trump (41% favor). The least popular is purchasing Greenland (37% favor).
Regardless of the policies, majorities want compromise from the government – and they want it more from Democrats than Trump. By a 58-point margin, voters think Democrats should look for opportunities to work with the president-elect as opposed to resisting his agenda and causing division (78% compromise, 20% resist). They want the same from Trump but to a lesser degree: 65% say compromise, 32% want him to advance his agenda at the risk of division.
Majorities of Democrats and independents want both Trump and the Democratic Party to find common ground while Republicans want Trump to advance his agenda but Democrats to compromise.
“While Americans clearly want Trump and the GOP to work with the other side to bolster the economy, they are even clearer in their desire for the Democrats to put aside any obstructionist impulses they might have,” says Republican Pollster Daron Shaw who conducts the Fox News survey with Democrat Chris Anderson. “The ‘resistance’ 2.0 is not a popular position.”
When asked their priorities for the new administration without the aid of a list, a quarter focus on the economy/jobs (13%) or inflation and high prices (11%). Another 13% said immigration and deportation, while Making American Great Again (9%) and Trump resigning (9%) round out the top five.
The compromise voters want might be tough, as the only priority shared by Democrats and Republicans is a focus on the economy. Democrats’ top priorities are Trump’s resignation (17%), the economy/jobs (12%), uniting the country (11%), and inflation (8%), while for Republicans it’s immigration/deportation (24%), economy/jobs (14%), Making American Great Again (14%), and inflation (11%).
Tariffs were a staple of Trump’s campaign rhetoric, but just 1% of voters feel they should be a top priority, and another 50% think imposing tariffs on imports will hurt the economy rather than help it — up 11 points from September. Since June 2019, when the question was first asked, voters have consistently been more likely to view tariffs as harmful than helpful to the economy.
When voters are asked about their level of concern over certain issues, inflation is far and away number one, with 89% saying they are extremely or very concerned.
The second biggest worry is natural disasters like hurricanes or wildfire (79% extremely or very). That’s up 9 points since the question was last asked in 2018, a year that also saw historically intense hurricanes and California wildfires.
Rounding out the list of concerns are political divisions (77% extremely or very), terrorist attacks (74%), energy policy (72%), border security (67%), illegal immigration (66%), gun laws (65%), war in the Middle East (65%), climate change (64%), Russia’s Ukraine invasion (63%), and transgender issues (34%).
As with priorities, the partisans only agree on inflation being a major concern. Democrats’ largest concerns are natural disasters (89%), climate change (87%), inflation (84%), and political divisions (83%). For Republicans, it’s inflation (93%), border security (88%), illegal immigration (88%), and terrorist attacks (80%).
Favorable ratings for Trump and congressional leaders
The survey also finds Trump’s personal favorable rating at 50%, up from 48% in October – and the highest it’s ever been in a Fox News Poll. An equal share has an unfavorable view.
Still, compared to past incoming presidents, Trump only bests himself – in 2017, his incoming favorable rating was 42%. In 2020, Biden’s favorability was at 59%, while Barack Obama’s was 76% in 2009, and George W. Bush’s was 58% in 2001.
Trump currently does better than his 2024 opponents as Biden has a -19 net negative rating (40% favorable, 59% unfavorable) and Harris has a -10 rating (45-55%).
The incoming president’s strength comes from 9 in 10 Republicans coalescing behind him (90% favorable) as well as 4 in 10 independent (43%). One in 10 Democrats (12%) also view Trump favorably, double what Republicans rate Biden (7%) and Harris (6%).
Vice President-elect JD Vance has a -3 net negative rating (43% favorable, 46% unfavorable).
On January 3, the 119th Congress was sworn into office and Mike Johnson, R-LA, won re-election for House Speaker — his favorable rating sits at -9 (28% favorable, 37% unfavorable) while one-third can’t rate him (35%).
It’s about the same for other top congressional leaders: Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-SD, is at -10 (15% favorable, 25% unfavorable, 60% can’t rate), while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, is at -16 (30%, 46%, 23%), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, is at -2 (27%, 29%, 44%).
Views of Elon Musk are waning, as his ratings are underwater by 9 points (43% favorable, 52% unfavorable) compared to his -4 in October and +1 in 2022.
FOX NEWS POLL: NEGATIVE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL RATINGS FOR BIDEN AS HE EXITS
The poll asks about George Soros for the first time, and his ratings are negative by 26 points (17% favorable, 43% unfavorable) while 40% are unable to rate him.
Overall, 26% approve of the job Congress is doing, a 7-point improvement since last February but not quite the 34% high during Biden’s presidency in June 2021.
Israel, Ukraine
By 22 points, more side with the Israelis (54%) over the Palestinians (32%), a record low and down from a 50-point preference in October 2023, shortly after the conflict first started. Support for Israelis has declined across the board since then, including among Republicans. Still, voters favor Israel over Iran by a wide 66-point margin (77% back Israel, 11% Iran).
The poll was conducted entirely before Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal on Wednesday.
Voters give Ukraine (42%) a 1-point edge over Russia (41%) when asked who is winning the war. That’s down from a 10-point edge in May 2023 and 17 points in January 2023. Voters are also split over how long to give Ukraine support in its fight against Russia: 48% say there should be a limited timeframe while 47% say U.S. support should continue as long as it takes.
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Conducted January 10-13, 2025 under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 922 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (114) and cellphones (638) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (170). Results based the full registered voter sample has a margin of sampling error of ± 3 percentage points. Sampling error associated with results among subgroup is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data.
