Nearly a year into President Donald Trump’s second term, an AP-NORC survey finds Republicans are broadly satisfied with his overall job performance while expressing more doubts about whether his economic approach is improving their day-to-day lives.
The poll, released with interviews conducted Jan. 8-11, finds a widening gap between what many Republicans expected from Trump’s leadership on economic issues and what they say they have received so far. Just 16% of Republicans say Trump has helped “a lot” in addressing the cost of living in his second term, down from 49% in April 2024, when an AP-NORC poll asked Americans the same question about his first term.
Despite the lower ratings on economics, Republicans’ approval of Trump’s overall job performance remains high. About 8 in 10 Republicans approve of his job performance, compared with about 4 in 10 adults overall, the survey found.
John Candela, a 64-year-old Republican who lives in New Rochelle, New York, said the cost of living has not improved for his family, telling the pollsters that his salary and bills remain the same as before. “Still paying $5 for Oreos,” he said, while adding that he expects change later: “I would expect it to be different by the time his four years are up.” Candela said he dislikes Trump’s personal style but supports what he believes Trump is doing to get the country “on track.”
On specific economic measures, Republicans’ views in the January survey are weaker than they were during the early months of Trump’s first term. Only about 4 in 10 Republicans overall say Trump has helped address the cost of living at least “a little” in his second term. In the April 2024 poll, 79% said Trump had helped address that issue at least “a little” during his first term.
The survey also shows a decline in job-creation support compared with the first term. Just over half of Republicans say Trump has helped create jobs in his second term, compared with 85% who said the same about his first term in the 2024 poll, including 62% who said he helped “a lot.” On that measure, 26% of Republicans in the January survey say he has helped “a lot” on job creation in his second term. On health care, about one-third of Republicans say Trump has helped address costs at least “a little,” while 53% said in April 2024 that he reduced health care costs that much during his first term.
The article also points to pressure on household finances and health costs, saying federal health care subsidies for more than 20 million Americans expired on Jan. 1, resulting in costs doubling or even tripling for many families. In Waxahachie, Texas—south of Dallas—Ryan James Hughes, a three-time Trump voter and children’s pastor, said medical bills have not declined. He added, “I’m not looking to the government to secure my financial future.”
Immigration emerges as a stronger area of support among Trump’s base, even as some Republicans express concerns about enforcement tactics. About 8 in 10 Republicans say Trump has helped at least “a little” on immigration and border security in his second term, a level similar to the share that saw a positive effect from his first-term leadership in April 2024. Most Republicans in the poll say Trump has struck the right balance when it comes to deporting immigrants in the U.S. illegally, while about one-third think he hasn’t gone far enough.
Still, the survey finds erosion in approval on immigration within the Republican coalition. Trump’s approval on immigration among Republicans fell from 88% in March to 76% in the January poll.
Kevin Kellenbarger, 69, a three-time Trump voter in Lancaster, Ohio, said his Christian faith led him to the Republican Party and that he believes Trump’s immigration crackdown is necessary. However, the article reports he expressed dissatisfaction regarding the killing of Renee Good by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis, saying, “I don’t like anybody getting killed, but it wasn’t Trump’s fault,” and adding that President Joe Biden, a Democrat, “let millions of people in. They have to be taken out.”
Some Republicans interviewed for the article also said the aggressive tactics associated with recent enforcement activity in Minneapolis went too far, suggesting Trump should focus more on immigrants with criminal backgrounds, a point referenced as part of Trump’s campaign promises. Even so, the article reports that overall support for Trump’s immigration leadership is limited outside his base: 38% of U.S. adults approve, while 61% disapprove.
The survey also finds differences between broad national sentiment and personal experience. About two-thirds of Republicans say the country is “much” or “somewhat” better off than before Trump took office, while only about half say this about themselves and their family. Phyllis Gilpin, a 62-year-old Republican from Booneville, Missouri, praised Trump’s ability to “really listen to people,” but said she does not love his personality, describing him as “very arrogant,” and said she wishes political divisions could be reduced.
The AP-NORC survey of 1,203 adults was conducted Jan. 8-11 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel. The margin of sampling error for adults overall was plus or minus 3.9 percentage points, and the margin of sampling error for Republicans overall was plus or minus 6 percentage points. The poll included interviews with 404 Republicans.
Catalini reported from Trenton, N.J., Bedayn reported from Denver and Thomson-DeVeaux reported from Washington.