A new poll showed the Democratic Party struggling to compete with President Donald Trump, who has maintained steady support from the public one month into his second term.
A Harvard CAPS-Harris survey released on Monday gave Trump a 52% approval rating, which is in line with previous recent polling.
While Republicans are still riding high off a wave of victories in November, their opposition has yet to rebound from defeats, with the Harvard poll reporting that the Democratic Party approval rating has hit a “record low” of 36%, “now 15 points lower than the GOP.” Meanwhile, 42% of voters say the country is on the right track under the Trump administration, “up 14 points from January,” the survey noted.
The poll was conducted between Feb. 19 and 20, exactly one month after Trump assumed office. Over 2,400 registered voters participated in the survey, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Trump’s agenda to remove people who are unlawfully in the country and have committed crimes garnered the most support from the public, holding an 81% approval rating. Under the leadership of border czar Tom Homan, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has conducted multiple operations across the country, targeting violent criminals such as the Tren de Aragua Venezuelan gang.
The president’s Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Elon Musk, also garnered popular support, a point Trump celebrated during remarks to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. Nearly 70% of voters supported DOGE’s goal of cutting $1 trillion from government spending, and 60% said they believe DOGE is “helping make major cuts in government expenditures.”
People are less enthusiastic about Musk’s department gaining access to sensitive data. Nearly 60% of voters said DOGE employees should not have access to people’s “Social Security numbers, addresses, and incomes.” The news comes as DOGE’s effort to scrutinize federal systems, such as the Treasury Department’s payment portal, has been challenged in multiple lawsuits due to privacy concerns.
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The Trump administration’s position concerning the Ukraine-Russia war is also popular with the public.
While the Biden administration focused on supplying Kyiv with vital funds to keep the war against Russia alive, Trump’s goal is to negotiate a swift end to the war. According to the Harvard poll, 72% of voters want Ukraine to negotiate a settlement with Russia instead of winning the war. The polling follows Trump’s move to set up a direct meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war.