A YouGov poll of 1,296 U.S. adults between April 21 - 23, 2025 — conducted for the Times — shows widespread dissatisfaction with the first 100 days of Donald Trump's second term as president. The disapproval of Trump extends from major issues, especially his handling of tariffs and government workers, to less-substantive ones such as golf and the Oval Office. The opinion shifting away from Trump hasn't coincided with much warming toward his predecessor Joe Biden, nor toward Trump's November opponent Kamala Harris — though perhaps there has been enough of a shift that a rematch today would go the other way.
Only 37% of Americans give Trump’s first 100 days a grade of excellent or good. 59% rate it as fair or poor. Twice as many give him a grade of poor as say he has been excellent (44% vs. 21%).
39% of Americans now view Trump favorably and 51% unfavorably.
“Arresting and deporting illegal immigrants” (25%) and “ordering a ban on transgender athletes in girls and women’s sports” (10%) lead the list of achievements Americans say are Trump’s best in his first 100 days, among options available on the poll. One-third (34%) say, “None of these.”
Only 5% name “arresting and deporting illegal immigrants” as Trump's biggest mistake and only 1% say the same about "ordering a ban on transgender athletes in girls and women's sports."
“Imposing tariffs on foreign imports” (25%), “firing thousands of federal workers” (12%), and “attempting to acquire or annex new U.S. territories” (9%) are most often named as Trump’s biggest mistake in his first 100 days, among the same list offered for his biggest achievement. Only 18% say, “None of these.” The top choices for biggest mistake are rarely seen as Trump's best achievements: Only 3% say tariffs are his biggest achievement, 2% say firing workers is, and 1% say so about seeking new territories.
About half (52%) of Trump voters name a biggest mistake, including 17% who name tariffs and 16% who name attempting to acquire or annex new territories.
While Trump's deportations are much more likely to be named as his biggest achievement than his biggest mistake, Americans are divided about Trump “invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 in order to deport more than 200 Venezuelan migrants accused of being gang members to El Salvador without immigration hearings.” About as many favor as oppose these deportations (42% vs. 40%).
A few other Trump activities outside the major issues also rate poorly. About half (51%) say Trump posts comments to social media too often, 3% say not enough and 24% say he posts about the right amount. About one-third (36%) say Trump plays golf too much, 3% not enough, and 28% about the right amount. And only 15% of Americans both have heard at least a little about Trump’s Oval Office redesign and approve of it; 22% have both heard something about it and disapprove.
Looking back at 2024
Kamala Harris leads Trump, 48% to 44%, among those who voted in 2024, in the scenario in which they could “go back and cast your ballot again.” That marks a shift away from Trump compared to his 2-percentage-point win (50% to 48%). Our survey is weighted on past vote so these numbers match the election results.
About one-third (35%) of Americans say they know someone who voted for Trump and now regrets their choice, about double the 18% who say they know someone who voted for Harris and now regrets their choice. Far more Democrats say they know a regretful Trump voter (54%) than do Independents (39%) or Republicans (17%). Among Republicans, knowing a regretful Trump voter is about twice as common among adults under 45 as among older Americans (27% vs. 12%).
Nonetheless, more Americans dislike than like Harris, and the same is true of Biden. Their numbers have changed little since just before the election.
38% of Americans view Harris favorably and 47% unfavorably. Among registered voters, 43% are favorable toward Harris and 48% are unfavorable — close to her numbers in October (44% favorable and 51% unfavorable).
The pattern is similar for Biden: Among adults, 33% view him favorably and 51% unfavorably, similar to Trump's numbers. Among registered voters, 40% view Biden favorably and 50% unfavorably — close to 38% favorable and 54% unfavorable in October.
— Carl Bialik and David Montgomery contributed to this article
See the results for this YouGov poll
Methodology: This article includes results from an online survey conducted April 21 - 23, 2025 among 1,296 U.S. adults. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of U.S. adults. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 presidential vote, and baseline party identification. Demographic weighting targets come from the U.S. Census American Community Survey and the U.S. Census Current Population Survey. The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 3%.
Image: Getty
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