Even after Elon Musk left DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency) and the Trump administration, parting ways with a president who no longer has kind words for him, Republicans — including MAGA Republicans — are Musk’s strongest supporters. A recent YouGov poll finds that while Musk has lost some support, he remains popular with Republicans, including with those who identify as MAGA Republicans and those who say they don't.
Musk remains more popular with Republicans than with Democrats, though the share who view him very or somewhat favorably has declined with them in the last month -— since his departure from the administration. Democrats generally have expressed unfavorable views of Musk since the beginning of the year, and now the share who view Musk favorably is below 10%.
One political figure outscores Musk among Republicans on many levels: Donald Trump. More than 90% of Republicans view Trump favorably. By 70% to 7%, Republicans are more likely to say Trump’s political views align more closely with their own than to say Musk's do.
However, Musk does rate more highly than Trump on several characteristics, even among Republicans. More Republicans see Musk as possessing intelligence that is far above average (53%) than say the same about Trump (42%). At least about half call Musk each of the following: an entrepreneur (64%), an innovator, (52%), and an inventor (52%). The percentages of Republicans who would use each of those words about Trump are lower: 57%, 29%, and 9%.
But the president scores higher than Musk with Republicans on what many may consider to be more important qualities: leadership, patriotism, and honesty. Only 29% of Republicans view Musk as a very strong leader, compared to 71% who see Trump that way. About three-quarters of Republicans view Trump as very patriotic and a similar share say he is honest and trustworthy — far more than describe Musk in those ways. And Republicans are about twice as likely or more to describe Trump as decisive and funny than to describe Musk in those ways.
In some respects, Musk and Trump both evoke very positive evaluations from Republicans. Three-quarters call each one rich. About half say each man is self-made and similar shares call each brilliant.
Three-quarters of Republicans call each man a very successful business person. Democrats have very little good to say about either man, though 39% say Musk is a very successful business person. At least half say each of Musk and Trump is a disruptor, which could be meant as a compliment.
Even now, Republicans are much more likely than the public overall to want Musk to have at least a little influence on the Trump administration, and most Republicans and Democrats believe he does have influence. Democrats are much more likely to say Musk has a lot of influence; most don’t want him to have as much influence as they perceive he does. A majority of Republicans believe Musk has a little influence and most agree that’s the amount he should have.
What about a new party?
Many Americans are open to the idea of a third major political party. The Democratic and Republican parties both are viewed negatively by more Americans than view them positively. This poll finds support for a hypothetical third party to compete with the Democratic and Republican parties outweighs opposition by a margin of nearly two to one. Independents are especially interested in a new third party, and so are many Democrats.
Republicans are less likely to see a need for a third political party — more of them say the two existing parties are enough. However, interest in a third party has risen overall since 2022.
But not everyone who thinks a third party is necessary would support Musk’s proposed third party. Only 11% overall say they would consider supporting it. Republicans and Independents are more than twice as likely as Democrats to say they would. Nearly one-third of Republicans and Independents aren’t sure what they would do — including 41% of Republicans who say they do not identify as MAGA Republicans.
— Carl Bialik and Taylor Orth contributed to this article
See the results for this YouGov poll
Methodology: This article includes results from an online survey conducted July 2 - 7, 2025 among 1,134 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. 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 4%.
Image: Getty
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