Most Americans approve of how Trump is handling his return to the White House

Most Americans expect the newly elected president Donald Trump to do a good job when he returns to the White House next month (54%), and a majority approve of how he has handled the presidential transition so far (55%), according to a new CNN poll performed by SSRS.

Trump won the presidency last month amid widespread disapproval of President Joe Biden’s handling of the job and deeply negative feelings about the state of the country and the economy. Nearly 7 in 10 Americans in the new poll believe Trump will be able to bring change to the country (68%), although only about half of Americans (48%) say they believe that will be a change for the better.

The results suggest the president-elect has achieved a honeymoon with the public as he prepares to return to the White House after being voted out four years ago on the back of his own generally negative ratings. But the poll finds that positive sentiment toward Trump is often on par with that of other recent incoming presidents, even as he surpasses his own past transition numbers.

The country’s mood appears to have lifted somewhat after Trump’s victory, at least in part because of the type of shifting partisan sentiment often seen in the wake of elections where the presidency changes hands. Most people overall still say things are going badly in the country (61%), but the proportion saying things are going “very badly” is at just 15%, the lowest in CNN polling since May 2018. The 38% , who say things in the country are going well, is the highest since December 2021.

That change has not come uniformly across party lines. Republicans have become more positive about the state of the country since the election: 30% say things are going well now, up from 14% at the start of 2024 and higher than at any point during Biden’s time in office. Independents are also more positive about the country’s direction: 43% say things are going well, 56% badly. This is the largest share of independents who say they are doing well since January 2020, before the Covid-19 pandemic began.

Among Democrats, however, positive sentiment is on the wane following their party’s loss of both the White House and control of the Senate in the November election, with only 40% saying things are going well now. That’s down from 62% at the start of 2024 and the worst since the summer of 2022, following a Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and repealed federal protections for abortion.

Among the overall public, the outlook for Trump’s handling of the presidency is about the same as it was in November 2016 (53% expected him to do a good job then), but expectations that he will bring change for the better are higher ( 48% say so now, up from 43% in November 2016). The shares saying he will bring change for the worse (20% now vs. 21% in 2016) or no change at all (31% now vs. 32% in 2016) are nearly identical to where they stood eight years ago since.

That change comes from higher expectations from some traditionally Democratic-leaning groups, among which Trump gained support in last month’s election. Almost half of women say they expect Trump to bring positive changes (46%), up 10 points compared to November 2016, while the share of people of color (37%, up 11 points) and people under 45 years (44%, up). 8 points) to expect changes for the better has also increased compared to 2016.

Still, Americans’ emotional reactions as they look ahead to another Trump term are mixed. Overall, slightly more people express a positive sentiment (52%) than a negative one (48%), but the proportion who say they are scared (29%) outnumbers the proportion who are enthusiastic (19%).

Majorities overall express at least some confidence in Trump across seven different issue areas and the president’s actions tested in the poll. His strongest marks come on handling the economy (where 39% expressed high confidence in him), immigration policy (39%) and the war between Russia and Ukraine (37%). Just over a third (35%) have deep confidence in his ability to provide real leadership for the country. About 3 in 10 have a lot of confidence in his handling of foreign affairs (30%) or that he will use the powers of the presidency responsibly (29%). Only 26% say they have a lot of confidence in him appointing the best people to office.

The economy was a particularly strong point for Trump during the campaign, and it’s one of the few areas in the poll where trust in him surpasses previous presidents. More Americans say they have “a lot” of confidence in Trump’s ability to handle the economy than those who said so about George W. Bush (29%), Bill Clinton (20%) or Ronald Reagan (26%) during their transitions .

Confidence that Trump is appointing the best people to office is down significantly compared to 2016 (26% now compared to 32% in 2016). On other measures with data from 2016, trust in Trump is roughly the same.

In the new poll, only 56% of Republicans express deep confidence that Trump is appointing the best people to office, lower than on the other six items tested in the poll and down from 72% in 2016. Confidence among independents has also faded , with only 18% expressing great confidence in Trump on appointments, down from 26% in 2016.

Across party lines, the public wants Trump to make appointments based on qualifications for each role rather than willingness to implement his preferred policies. Three-quarters of Americans (75%) say they would prefer that Trump “mostly choose people who have the best experience and the best qualifications for each role, even if they may not always support his positions,” while 25% believes he should focus on those who will “always support his positions, even if they don’t have the best experience and qualifications for that role.” This conclusion is largely consistent across party lines (78% of Republicans, 77% of Democrats and 71% of independents say he should prioritize qualifications over loyalty).

On the question specifically of Trump’s appointments of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new government efficiency effort, the public is almost evenly split: 49% approve, 50% disapprove. The partisan divide over Trump’s choice of these two wealthy tech executives to try to reform the government is massive, with 92% of Republicans saying they approve, while 88% of Democrats disapprove. Independents are leaning towards the election, with 45% approving and 54% disapproving.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans say they follow news of the Trump transition at least somewhat closely, with only 7% saying they don’t follow closely at all. And most people approve of what they see. Approval of Trump’s handling of the transition is significantly higher than in 2016 (55% now versus 46% in 2016), while disapproval has remained steady at 45%.

Trump’s approval of the transition still lags behind other presidents entering their first terms. Barack Obama led the pack with 79% in CNN’s first reading of his transition approval rating in December 2008, while Biden at 66%, Bush at 65% and Clinton at 62% all received higher approval ratings than Trump.

Here, too, Trump has improved on his 2016 numbers with some groups that tilted widely against him in his first term: 52% of women and 51% of people under 35 approve of his handling of the transition now; those numbers were 39% and 42%, respectively, in 2016. A majority of people of color disapprove (56%), less negative than the 63% who disapproved in 2016. Approval has also risen across party lines, with approval ratings from Republicans ( 96 % now) and the Democrats (19%), each rising 7 points. Independents split 50-50 on Trump’s handling of the transition now, in 2016 they split 44% approve to 43% disapprove, with 13% unsure.

However, the public is less accepting of Biden’s decision ahead of Trump’s inauguration to pardon his son Hunter Biden, who was convicted of federal gun and tax crimes earlier this year. Overall, 68% say they disapprove of the pardon and 32% approve. Democrats lean narrowly toward approving the pardon, with 56% approving and 43% disapproving, while Republicans (89% disapprove) and independents (70% disapprove) are broadly negative about it.

Trump’s election also prompted special counsel Jack Smith to drop federal charges pending against Trump, as the Justice Department is barred from prosecuting sitting presidents. Most Americans (54%) say they disapprove of this decision, while 45% say they approve. There’s a big partisan divide here: 90% of Republicans approve and 87% of Democrats disapprove. Independents break 36% approve to 64% disapprove.

The CNN poll was conducted by SSRS from May 5-8. December among a random national sample of 1,011 adults drawn from a probability-based panel. Surveys were either conducted online or by telephone with a live interviewer. Results among the entire sample have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

CNN’s Edward Wu, Ariel Edwards-Levy and Henry Gertmenian contributed to this report.

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