Findings from the latest Economist/YouGov poll about:
- Whether Americans think the poor, the middle class, or the wealthy are most likely to see their tax burden increased by the new budget
- Which government body one-third of Americans want to eliminate
- Changing opinion on whether people being detained at the border are being treated humanely
- How many Americans think the country's interests are equivalent to Trump's business interests
The budget
- The budget proposed by Republicans and Donald Trump is strongly or somewhat opposed by more Americans than support it (43% vs. 36%); about one-fifth (21%) are unsure
- These results are similar to those from a month ago. At the start of Trump's first term in 2017, his budget proposal was opposed by a slightly larger margin of 44% to 27%
- Who do Americans think will pay more under Trump's new tax plan than they do now? The middle class's tax burden is most likely to be expected to increase. 33% say the poor will pay more, 36% say the middle class will, and 28% say the wealthy will. 29% expect the poor will pay less, 17% think the middle class will, and 42% expect the wealthy will
- The share who expect the wealthy will pay more under the new tax plan has increased 13 percentage points since mid-April
- 40% of Americans believe the Trump administration's proposed budget will increase their own taxes either a lot or some; 19% think it will decrease their taxes and 22% think their taxes will stay about the same
- 40% of Americans think the Trump administration's proposed budget will hurt them and their immediate family either a lot or a little; 21% think it will help and 21% think it won't have much of an impact
- Since mid-April, there has been a 7-point decline in the share who think the tax plan will help them and their family
- 37% support and 22% oppose extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; 41% are unsure
- 37% of Americans think that the federal budget deficit will increase under the Trump administration's proposed budget, while 21% think it will decrease and 16% think it will remain the same
- One-third (32%) of Americans would like for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to be eliminated; fewer than one in five say the same about any of nine other government bodies asked about in the survey
- Very few Americans support reducing or eliminating funding for social services, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
- Majorities want funding to be increased for Social Security (62%) and Medicare (58%), and sizable shares do as well for Medicaid (47%) and SNAP (39%)
Immigration and deportation
- How do Americans feel about Trump's immigration policies?
- By 60% to 26%, Americans oppose deporting immigrants without criminal convictions to El Salvador to be imprisoned, without letting them challenge the deportation in court
- Three other policies asked about in the poll are also more likely to be opposed than supported, though by smaller margins, including ending birthright citizenship (48% oppose vs. 39% support), offering $1,000 stipends to undocumented immigrants who self-deport (45% vs. 36%), and offering refugee status to white South African farmers, known as Afrikaners (39% vs. 33%)
- Twice as many Americans say that their view is closer to the opinion that illegal immigrants take jobs that Americans don't want as say that they take jobs that are wanted by Americans (53% vs. 27%)
- Americans are divided on how immigrants being detained at the border are being treated: 34% say they are being treated humanely and 39% say they are being treated inhumanely
- When we last asked this question in 2023, more said treatment was humane than inhumane (41% vs. 30%). Democrats' views have shifted most: 70% now say treatment is inhumane, compared to 40% who said so two years ago, when Democrat Joe Biden was president
- Many Americans (29%) are unsure whether members of Congress have a right to enter Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detention facilities to conduct oversight; 49% think they do have this right and 22% say they don't. Democrats and Republicans are more likely than not to think members of Congress have this right
- By 60% to 16%, Americans say they support rather than oppose the right of habeas corpus, which guarantees a person the right to challenge detention as unlawful in court
- 41% of Americans say that illegal immigrants should be required to leave the U.S., while 38% say they should be allowed to stay and eventually apply for citizenship; 8% say they should be allowed to stay, but not become citizens
- While these overall figures have changed little since we last posed this specific question in 2023, opinions among Democrats and Republicans have grown more polarized
- The share of Democrats saying illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay and eventually apply for citizenship has risen to 71% from 54% in 2023
- Among Republicans, the share saying illegal immigrants should be required to leave has risen to 75% from 63% in 2023
Trump's business interests
- Americans are more likely to agree than disagree that "what is good for business is good for the country" (52% agree vs. 34% disagree). The opposite is true for the notion that "what is good for Donald Trump's business is good for the country" (31% agree vs. 56% disagree)
- Three-quarters (73%) of Americans say that Trump's business interests and positions are affecting his decision-making as president some (26%) or a lot (47%)
- More Americans say that Trump puts his business interests first than say he puts the interests of the U.S. first (47% vs. 33%); 10% say his business interests are the same as the interests of the U.S.
- 52% of Americans believe that Trump is using his office for personal gain, while 35% say he is not
- By 53% to 26%, Americans say it is unacceptable rather than acceptable for a president to accept valuable gifts from foreign governments while in office
- By 51% to 29%, Americans think it is a bad idea rather than a good idea for the Trump administration to accept a gift from Qatar of a luxury jet to be used as Air Force One and later transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation
- An open-ended question asked Americans why Qatar would make such an offer. We used an AI tool to analyze these responses, and found that:
- Among Americans who say that accepting the jet is a bad idea, many cite as potential reasons for the offer that Qatar expects preferential treatment from the U.S., may be bribing Trump, or is appealing to his ego
- Among those who say that accepting the jet is a good idea, common reasons cited for Qatar's offer is that it is an expression of goodwill toward the U.S., or that it is being given to show respect or admiration for Trump
— Carl Bialik contributed to this article
Throughout this report, some numbers may appear to be off by 1 because of rounding
See the toplines and crosstabs for the May 16 - 19, 2025 Economist/YouGov Poll
Methodology: The poll was conducted among 1,710 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of U.S. adult citizens. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 3%.
Image: Getty (Andrew Harnik / Staff)
What do you really think about President Trump, American politics in general, and everything else? Share your reality, join the YouGov panel, and get paid to share your thoughts. Sign up here.
