A blitz of early executive orders relating to issues ranging from immigration to gender came out of the Oval Office on Monday night as newly seated President Donald Trump wasted no time after his inauguration enacting his agenda.
Now, early polling indicates the American public is reacting positively to Trump’s actions, according to a new survey by the Napolitan News Service released Friday.
Trump reinstated his “Remain in Mexico” policy from his first term in a Day One executive order. The policy—reversed by the Biden administration in 2021, but now back in effect—requires asylum-seekers coming through Mexico to remain there until entering the United States for asylum hearings.
Sixty-five percent of voters prefer Trump’s Remain in Mexico policy, rather than former President Joe Biden’s catch-and-release program, with 23% supporting Biden’s approach, according to the poll. Democrats and those who lean Democratic are divided on the issue with 43% and 44% pluralities, respectively, supporting the Biden approach, while Republicans and GOP leaners prefer Trump’s approach by 90% or more. Hispanic voters prefer Trump’s approach by a margin of 51% to 40%.
In another Day One executive order, Trump declared the federal government recognizes just two sexes, male and female. The executive order does away with the previous administration’s language of “gender identity.”
“It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,” the executive order reads. “These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”
Voters approved of the president’s declaration by a 2-to-1 margin of 62% to 31%, according to the poll. Eighty-nine percent of Republicans approved of it, while just 36% of Democrats did.
When asked whether Trump should be required to keep government agency officials appointed by Biden, 28% respond affirmatively, while 56% said the new president should be allowed to appoint new leaders who share his views.
The president also received high ratings from poll respondents for his inaugural address Monday.
Out of 72% of respondents who watched at least some of it or news highlights of the inaugural address, 38% rated the president’s speech as “excellent.” Twenty-seven percent rated the speech as “good,” and 17% rated it as “fair.”
The online poll—which surveyed a weighted sample of 1,000 registered voters on Jan. 21 and 22, and had a 3.1% margin of error—indicates Republicans were more likely to watch the address than Democrats.