Two months into his second term, President Donald Trump has achieved his highest approval rating as commander in chief, with more Americans saying the country is headed in the right direction than at any point since 2004, according to a new NBC News poll released on March 16.
Specifically, the overall satisfaction level for Mr. Trump reached 47%, his highest level ever as president.
However, Mr. Trump has yet to win the support of a majority of Americans, and 54% said they disapproved of his handling of the economy and streamlining the government, especially with his current ambitious agenda.
Still, the poll found that voters generally feel President Trump is delivering “the right change” on key issues, including tariff policy, despite a stock market sell-off last week as Wall Street grappled with his decision earlier this month to impose broad 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico as well as 20% on China.
Mr. Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s son. (Photo: Getty Images)
Voters felt the same way on many other important issues, with Trump’s actions on the border being the most popular, with 56% saying it was a positive change. On cutting government spending, 47% said his changes were good, compared with 29% who said they were not.
On his handling of the Ukraine war and his role in NATO, more respondents said his actions were good (41%) than disapproved (40%); 46% considered the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) a good idea, lower than the 47% who disapproved.
Respondents to the NBC poll also appeared to be giving President Trump a little slack on inflation: 40% said his policies were having a “positive” impact, compared to 30% who said “negative” and 28% who thought it was “not changing” anything.
A legal and political standoff ensued after the Trump administration deported hundreds of Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador on March 16. (Photo: Shutterstock)
According to the poll, Mr. Trump’s approval rating among Republicans is 90%, while it is only 4% among Democrats.
According to NBC’s assessment, it is the largest gap in approval ratings between the two opposing parties for a president in the past 80 years.
President Trump’s approval rating is significantly higher than at the same point in his first term (44%), although lower than former President Joe Biden’s at the same point (53%).
NBC News noted that 44% of voters polled believe the country is on the right track, while 54% believe the country is on the wrong track, a two-decade high.
While still pessimistic, it is the most positive outlook on the country’s direction the poll has recorded since President George W. Bush took office 20 years ago.
