According to the new NBC News Decision Desk equipped with Surveymonkey, President Donald Trump’s second term’s approval rating remains in negative territory, along with his general attitude towards his administration’s policies.
But immigration and border security remain exceptions as the president seeks to promote public attention towards his strongest issues.
Americans’ ratings of Trump’s second term, two other decisive projects of tariffs and government efficiency are more negative. And as Congress is working on another major Trump initiative, a massive tax and spending plan, polls show how Republicans must manage internal differences over competing priorities regarding tax and government debt.
A majority (55%) of all adults over the age of 18 are unhappy with the way Trump handles his job as president, while 45% acknowledge that it remains the same from NBC News in April.
The overall numbers were stable, but beneath the surface there is a proportion of adults who strongly approve that their enthusiasm for the president has waned, and that it will decline slightly since April. The strong disapproval share also fell slightly, but the poll has left intense negative emotions stronger than strong positive emotions.
Republicans say they are less likely to support the president than in April at 5 percent points, and that much of the move comes from Republicans and identify them as part of the Maga movement.
The poll was conducted from May 30 to June 10, surveying 19,410 adults online nationwide, margining an error of either positive or negative 2.1 percentage points.
Few supporters in the Magazine chose “excitement” compared to April when asked to identify feelings about the president and his actions. 37% said they were excited by the Trump administration’s conditional actions, starting from 46% in April.
In contrast, a Democrat majority (51%) say they are “furious” at the Trump administration’s actions and show a gap in the strength of emotions between the parties. In fact, Republicans have been seven percentage points away from being excited by more neutral feelings about the president since April.
This type of intensity gap has played a major role in past non-presidential election cycles and could prove to be prominent in off-cycle elections in New Jersey and Virginia this November. As Congressional Republicans and Trump prepare to defend their seats in the 2026 midterm elections, they will want to raise enthusiasm among their bases.
The majority of independents said they were unhappy, angry or enraged at the administration’s actions. That’s reflected in the president’s independence recognition rating, with 65% saying he disapproving his performance.
Immigration remains Trump’s strongest problem
The majority of Americans said they would approve Trump’s border security and handling of immigration, but the public is closely divided even in his strongest issues, with 51% saying they approved handling of immigration and border security, and 49% saying they disapproved.
While the investigation was underway, Trump deployed National Guard troops and Marines in the Los Angeles area to protest against county immigration and customs enforcement activities. He spoke repeatedly about recent issues.
The public is divided into Trump’s immigration policies, but his foundation is motivated by the problems and his handling. While 9% of Americans say immigration is the most important issue for them now, 20% of MAGA supporters say immigration is the most important issue and second only to the economy.
Trump’s overall numbers on immigration were similar to the April polls, but it’s more likely that Republicans, Maga Republicans and Independents say they strongly approve of the way Trump handles border security and immigration.
In recent months, the administration’s immigration policy overlaps with policies specifically targeting foreign students in the US. Polls found that the majority of Americans disapproved of handling university-related issues, with 56% disapproving Trump’s actions against universities.
But Trump’s base strongly approves his university handling. Magazine’s supporters have overwhelmingly approved it. 72% say they strongly approve this. Most Republicans have approved it, including 57% who strongly approved the handling of Trump’s issue.
On the question of how institutions like Harvard will affect the United States, several Americans support the country (44%), with about a quarter (24%) saying it hurts the country. Another 31% said that universities and universities like Harvard are not making a difference. Harvard is at the forefront of a legal battle with the Trump administration over grants and the ability to register international students.
The majority of MAGA supporters (65%) and Republicans (53%) say universities like Harvard are mostly hurting the country, while three-quarters of Democrats support the country. Among independents, 46% said that universities and universities weren’t making a difference, while 42% said they were supporting the state.
Americans gave Trump a negative rating on how they handled several other issues, including tariffs (40% approval, 60% disapproval), cost of living and inflation (39%-61%), diversity, equity and comprehensive efforts.
Republicans split their priorities with Trump’s big bill
A small majority (51%) of Americans said maintaining current spending levels for programs like Medicaid is the most important issue as Congress considers the budget laws Trump supports this year. But it is closely divided within the margin of error for a total of 49% that Republicans allied priorities pairs are most important to them.
The vote also shows how Republicans are trying to balance priorities with the demands of different parts of their narrow Congressional majority when they design their packages.
Negotiating the bill to reflect the division among Republican lawmakers, 40% of Republicans said they are most interested in ensuring that national debt is reduced, with almost identical shares (39%) saying they are most interested in increasing income tax cuts and credit continuity and expansion enacted by Trump in 2017. Two in 10 Republicans said maintaining current spending is the most important budget priority.
The findings come after a brief but explosive online feud between Trump and his former billionaire adviser Elon Musk. Even though they support the idea of extending the 2017 tax credit and enacting some new ones, several Republican senators have expressed concern about the bill’s spending levels.
Senate Republicans, who have a 53-seat majority, are aiming to pass a version of the law by July.
Democrats surveyed in the poll said overwhelmingly that their priorities maintain current spending levels for programs like Medicaid, as well as a small majority (53%) of independents.
Doge Ratings drops slightly
Meanwhile, the assessment of Doge’s efforts to reduce American mask spending and the size of the federal government have declined slightly since April.
In the most recent survey, 44% were rated as successful or partial success from 47%, and 56% were rated as disability or partial failure from 52%.
The change includes erosion among Trump’s most enthusiastic supporters, with 49% of Maga supporters saying the effort has now been successful since 66% in April. The results of this question did not change much over time, but the investigation was on the scene during Trump and Musk’s recent feud.
Economic concerns
The economic rating remains slimy. 45% of Americans said their personal financial situation was the same as a year ago, with 34% saying they were bad. Another 21% said they were financially better than a year ago. The survey results were almost the same in April.
The majority of Americans (51%) believe Trump’s tariffs will worsen their personal finances next year. The number has been down slightly since April, with most groups shifting by saying that tariff policies say their finances will be “almost the same.”
The findings have seen an almost stable inflation rate in May, and the impact of repeated tariffs, which correspond to many ons, and the impact of ongoing negotiations with trading partners remains unknown.
The NBC News Decision Desk Poll is equipped with Surveymonkey. It was conducted online from May 30th to June 10th in a national sample of 19,410 adults aged 18 and over. The reported percentage excludes non-responses and rounds of items to the nearest percentage point. The margin of estimated error for this study among all adults is either positive or negative 2.1 percentage points.
