U.S. President Donald Trump looks on while signing executive orders during a press availability within the Oval Office of the White House on September 05, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Americans’ views of President Donald Trump’s job performance remain negative amid a flurry of activity from his administration on tariffs, immigration and public health, in line with the newest NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey.
Notably, the poll shows U.S. adults expressing strong, bipartisan support for vaccines as Trump’s health and human services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has moved to limit certain shots. The poll was conducted before Democratic and a few Republican senators sparred with Kennedy over vaccine access during a contentious congressional hearing last week.
Respondents said they like leadership with political experience over outsiders who will shake things up, amid a second Trump presidency defined by sweeping and rapid change.
Just over 4 in 10 Americans, 43%, approve of Trump’s job performance within the survey, much like his standing in June, while 57% disapprove. Trump’s weakest rankings are on economic matters, with 39% approving of his handling of inflation and 41% approving of his handling of trade and tariffs.
Americans proceed to provide the president stronger grades on his handling of immigration. The poll asked barely different wording to different halves of the respondents. Those asked whether or not they approve of Trump’s handling of “border security and immigration” give Trump a 47% approval rating on the difficulty.
But those asked whether or not they approve of Trump’s handling of “deportations and border security” amid his administration’s aggressive deportation program give Trump a rather lower, 43% approval rating on the difficulty.
The NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey surveyed 30,196 adults online from Aug. 13-Sept. 1 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.
On his handling of various issues and on presidential approval overall, the poll shows not only overall feelings leaning against Trump but in addition the intensity of those feelings.
Voter enthusiasm can be critical in elections later this 12 months and within the midterm elections in 14 months. The poll asked Americans to explain their feelings in regards to the Trump presidency.
Nearly half of Democrats (49%) report that they’re “furious” in regards to the actions of the Trump administration, probably the most extreme negative response option. On the opposite side, 27% of Republicans say they’re “thrilled” with the administration’s actions — the strongest positive response. And 18% say they’re “pleased” and 28% more say they’re “satisfied.” The outcomes are much like the previous NBC News Decision Desk Poll in June.
Just 8% of independents report positive feelings toward the actions of the Trump administration, far lower than the 56% who report negative feelings. And greater than two-thirds of independents clustered across the two options in or near the center — “dissatisfied” and “neutral” — while Democrats and Republicans cluster on either side.
Americans prefer a political insider
As incumbents in Washington and would-be challengers begin to look toward the 2026 primary and general elections, a majority of Americans say they like a politician who’s “an insider with the experience needed to get things done.”
Fifty-eight percent of all adults say they like an insider, in comparison with 42% who say they’d prefer a political “outsider who desires to shake things up and alter the system.”
As Trump has positioned himself throughout his political profession as the final word outsider, 6 in 10 Republicans said they like a politician who’s an outsider.
Meanwhile, three-quarters of Democrats say they like an insider, even amid a rolling fight over generational change and the effectiveness of party leaders within the wake of Democrats’ 2024 election loss. Independents are more consistent with Democrats, as 6 in 10 say they like a politician who’s an insider with experience.
This partisan divide offers a special perspective from results from April’s NBC News Decision Desk Poll, by which a majority of Americans — overall and across party lines — said they agreed that “nothing within the country will change until we elect a brand new generation of leaders to Washington.” (That query was not tracked on this latest survey.)
Republicans increasingly prioritize crime and safety
Crucial issues for Americans overall remain the economy and threats to democracy, followed by health care and crime and safety.
With Trump’s recent deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., the administration has put crime and safety more within the news — and Republicans have responded, with more of them saying they prioritize the difficulty now than they did in June.
Amongst Republicans, 18% rank crime and safety as the difficulty that matters most to them, second only to the economy. That is 5 percentage points higher than in June. Democrats and independents remain unchanged on how they see the importance of crime and safety.
Inflation and rising cost of living dominate other economic matters
Inflation was considered one of the drivers animating Trump’s 2024 victory, and it stays a significant concern for Americans.
Forty-five percent of U.S. adults say inflation and the rising cost of living is the economic matter most significant to them and their family without delay — greater than 30 points ahead of the next-closest economic issues, akin to health care costs, taxes and take-home pay, rates of interest and housing affordability.
In the case of their personal financial situation, a couple of quarter of respondents say they’re in higher shape today than they were one 12 months ago. One-third say they’re worse off today and about 4 in 10 say they’re in in regards to the same financial position in comparison with one 12 months ago.
While Americans overall aren’t optimistic about their personal funds, about 4 in 10 Republicans say their funds are higher today than a 12 months ago. The poll also finds a positive shift from June amongst independents and ladies under 30, who were 4 and 5 points more likely, respectively, to say their funds are higher today.
Strong support for vaccines, with independent views shifting barely
An awesome majority of Americans support using vaccines for the prevention of diseases, including 49% who strongly support it and 78% who strongly or somewhat support it. The query asked about vaccines broadly, not about individual kinds of shots.
Across party lines, large majorities of Democrats (93%), independents (72%) and Republicans (67%) say they support using vaccines. One-third of Republicans and about 3 in 10 independents say they oppose using vaccines for the prevention of diseases, nonetheless.
Independents are more closely aligned with Republicans than Democrats on this issue. Notably, that group has shifted 5 points more toward opposition since June.
While the poll was being administered in the sector, the Food and Drug Administration approved a Covid shot, but with more limited access than up to now, and Trump fired the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director after she clashed with Kennedy.
The survey results also illustrate the possible political danger of Kennedy’s rhetoric and policy moves on vaccines, which have generated pushback from members of Congress in each parties.
The NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey surveyed 30,196 adults online from Aug. 13 to Sept. 1 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.
