U.S. President Donald Trump looks on while signing executive orders during a press availability in 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, according to the latest 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 some Republican senators sparred with Kennedy over vaccine access during a contentious congressional hearing last week.
Respondents said they prefer 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 in the survey, similar to his standing in June, while 57% disapprove. Trump’s weakest ratings are on economic matters, with 39% approving of his handling of inflation and 41% approving of his handling of trade and tariffs.
Americans continue to give the president stronger grades on his handling of immigration. The poll asked slightly different wording to different halves of the respondents. Those asked whether they approve of Trump’s handling of “border security and immigration” give Trump a 47% approval rating on the issue.
But those asked whether they approve of Trump’s handling of “deportations and border security” amid his administration’s aggressive deportation program give Trump a slightly lower, 43% approval rating on the issue.
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 different issues and on presidential approval overall, the poll shows not just overall feelings leaning against Trump but also the intensity of those feelings.
Voter enthusiasm will be critical in elections later this year and in the midterm elections in 14 months. The poll asked Americans to describe their feelings about the Trump presidency.
Nearly half of Democrats (49%) report that they are “furious” about the actions of the Trump administration, the most extreme negative response option. On the other side, 27% of Republicans say they are “thrilled” with the administration’s actions — the strongest positive response. And 18% say they are “happy” and 28% more say they are “satisfied.” The results are similar to 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 more than two-thirds of independents clustered around the two options in or near the middle — “dissatisfied” and “neutral” — while Democrats and Republicans cluster on either side.
Americans prefer a political insider
As incumbents in Washington and would-be challengers start to look toward the 2026 primary and general elections, a majority of Americans say they prefer a politician who is “an insider with the experience needed to get things done.”
Fifty-eight percent of all adults say they prefer an insider, compared to 42% who say they’d prefer a political “outsider who wants to shake things up and change the system.”
As Trump has positioned himself throughout his political career as the ultimate outsider, 6 in 10 Republicans said they prefer a politician who’s an outsider.
Meanwhile, three-quarters of Democrats say they prefer an insider, even amid a rolling fight over generational change and the effectiveness of party leaders in the wake of Democrats’ 2024 election loss. Independents are more in line with Democrats, as 6 in 10 say they prefer a politician who’s an insider with experience.
This partisan divide offers a different perspective from results from April’s NBC News Decision Desk Poll, in which a majority of Americans — overall and across party lines — said they agreed that “nothing in the country will change until we elect a new generation of leaders to Washington.” (That question was not tracked in this latest survey.)
Republicans increasingly prioritize crime and safety
The most important 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 in the news — and Republicans have responded, with more of them saying they prioritize the issue now than they did in June.
Among Republicans, 18% rank crime and safety as the issue that matters most to them, second only to the economy. That’s 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 one of the drivers animating Trump’s 2024 victory, and it remains a major concern for Americans.
Forty-five percent of U.S. adults say inflation and the rising cost of living is the economic matter most important to them and their family right now — more than 30 points ahead of the next-closest economic issues, such as health care costs, taxes and take-home pay, interest rates and housing affordability.
When it comes to their personal financial situation, about a quarter of respondents say they’re in better shape today than they were one year ago. One-third say they’re worse off today and about 4 in 10 say they’re in about the same financial position compared to one year ago.
While Americans overall aren’t optimistic about their personal finances, about 4 in 10 Republicans say their finances are better today than a year ago. The poll also finds a positive shift from June among independents and women under 30, who were 4 and 5 points more likely, respectively, to say their finances are better today.
Strong support for vaccines, with independent views shifting slightly
An overwhelming 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 question asked about vaccines broadly, not about individual types 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, however.
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 field, the Food and Drug Administration approved a Covid shot, but with more limited access than in the past, 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 both 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.
