President Donald Trump scored higher in how he handled immigration in his first two months in office than any other issue, particularly trade and the economy, according to a new poll released on Monday.
Trump entered office and immediately got the U.S.-Mexico border under control while unleashing a nationwide deportation operation — moves that earned him a 49% approval rating on immigration among U.S. adults surveyed by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The figure is higher than it was at the same point during his first term, pollsters noted.
Fifty percent of adults disapproved of his handling of immigration overall. More than 4 in 5 Republicans, 88%, favored Trump’s approach to immigration as opposed to 37% of independents and 18% of Democrats.
Trump’s most favorable issue among Democrats was immigration, on which he received higher approval ratings than on government spending, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, managing the federal government, Social Security, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the economy, and trade negotiations with other countries. On those policies, Democrats tanked Trump with approval scores of 9% to 14%.
Trump’s lowest-scoring issues were the economy and trade negotiations with other countries, on which he only received 40% and 38% approval, respectively. Far more respondents across the political spectrum disagreed with his approach at a rate of roughly 3 in 5.
Trump’s performance in general since Jan. 20 was favored by 42% of all U.S. adults polled versus 56% who disapproved, essentially the same as when he took office during his first term, pollsters reported.
Overall, the public believes the country is headed in the right direction and at a greater rate than in former President Joe Biden’s final week in office, according to the poll.
Nearly 3 in 4 Republicans, in particular, think the United States is on the right trajectory, with majorities in the House and Senate and control of the White House.
The poll was conducted among 1,229 U.S. adults nationwide from March 20 to 24 and had a plus-or-minus 3.9-point margin of error.