How Americans Are Feeling About Trump as His First Year in Office Comes to a Close
SOURCE:Time Magazine|BY:Nandika Chatterjee
As his first year back in office ends, Trump is facing backlash on a number of fronts and his job approval is near its lowest-ever levels.
President Donald Trump swept back into the White House in January in a flush of victory and with roughly half the country behind him after reclaiming the presidency last November. But as 2025 comes to an end, he’s facing backlash on a number of fronts—even from some in his own party—and his job approval is near the lowest it’s ever been across both of his terms.
Just 36 percent of Americans polled in a Gallup end of year survey approve of the President’s job performance. This includes 89 percent of Republicans, but only 3 percent of Democrats and 25 percent of Independents.
A separate Economist/YouGov poll paints a similar picture. Conducted Dec. 20–22, it found that 39 percent of Americans approve of the President’s job performance, while 57 percent disapprove—a net rating of negative 19.
The RealClearPolling average of national polls, which reflects multiple recent surveys, has him slightly less in the negatives but still double-digits underwater, showing his overall job approval at about 43 percent and disapproval around 53 percent as of late December 2025.
The President acknowledged his declining approval last month, when multiplepolls showed his ratings dipping to their lowest level since his return to office.
“So my poll numbers just went down, but with smart people they've gone way up,” he said, before going on to blame disagreements within his conservative base, particularly over his support for offering visas to some skilled foreign workers to take jobs and train Americans in key industries.
“I always take a little heat from my people,” he said. He acknowledged that “sometimes they’re way right,” but doubled down on his stance on such legal immigration.
A number of issues have weighed on Trump’s numbers, both then and now, from inflation and the high cost of living to his approach to immigration and handling of files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The decline in the President’s approval rating as the end of the year nears follows a brief uptick after that November low: Trump’s net approval had ticked up to negative 13 and negative 14 in YouGov polls over the previous two weeks before slipping back down to negative 19.
While Gallup found in its most recent poll that 48 percent of Americans said Trump fit the description of a “strong and decisive leader,” fewer believe he is honest and trustworthy, at 30 percent, or that he prioritizes the needs of people like them, at 34 percent. And Economist/YouGov surveys this year have found views of the President’s performance across several different policy areas falling sharply in the months since his second term began.
The Epstein files
Trump’s association with Epstein and his Administration’s handling of the case have been a flashpoint during his second term, sparking criticism even from his base and some of his allies in Congress and the right-wing media.
Under half of self-identified MAGA Republicans strongly support Trump’s approach to the Epstein investigation, according to the recent Economist/YouGov poll. And the numbers worsen considerably when looking at Americans overall: the poll found that 55 percent of Americans disapprove or somewhat disapprove of Trump’s handling of the issue, including 81 percent of Democrats and 59 percent of Independents.
Epstein has long been the subject of scrutiny and conspiracy theories, particularly on the right; before Trump returned to office, some of his allies stoked speculation about the case and pushed for their release, claiming they would expose serious crimes committed by powerful people.
This year, however, Trump and Administration officials drew controversy by pushing back on widely releasing the files, despite the President’s efforts to downplay the issue as a “Democratic hoax.” Trump reversed his stance last month, urging Republicans to support a bill to compel the release of the files and sign it into law. But the Department of Justice’s incomplete and heavily redacted initial release of documents tied to Epstein under the measure, as well as the notably few mentions of Trump himself in the files the department made public, have drawn renewed scrutiny and outcry over the issue.
Views on Trump’s personal ties to Epstein, as with his handling of the case more broadly, are polarized. Some 47 percent of Americans in the Economist/YouGov survey overall believe the President is trying to cover up Epstein’s crimes, and 46 percent say he was involved. Eighty percent of MAGA Republicans reject that view, however.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing on his part in connection with Epstein and prior knowledge of the disgraced financier’s crimes.
Trump’s pressure campaign against Venezuela
Trump’s escalating pressure campaign against Venezuela—including the series of deadly attacks his Administration has conducted across alleged cartel boats in the region, the blockade he has imposed on some oil tankers going in and out of the country, and his threats to carry out land strikes—has also been the subject of widespread controversy during his second Administration.
Just 31 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s approach to Venezuela, and nearly half—49 percent— disapprove. The oil blockade also garnered more disapproval, at 40 percent, than approval, at 35 percent.
Americans are even more broadly opposed to military action in the country. The Economist/YouGov poll shows that only 22 percent of adults support using U.S. military force to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, while 52 percent oppose such action.
Support for a full invasion is weaker still, with just 19 percent in favor and 60 percent opposed.
Views are divided by party, though most Republicans also don’t support taking such actions: 43 percent back a potential invasion, while 34 percent oppose it.
Public sentiment strongly favors Trump seeking congressional authorization before using military force in Venezuela, with 74 percent of Americans saying he should do so, including 93 percent of Democrats, 73 percent of independents, and 58 percent of Republicans. Most Americans don’t view Venezuela as an urgent threat. Only 18 percent say the situation constitutes a national emergency, while 53 percent disagree. Views on whether Maduro’s government is a terrorist organization, as Trump designated it earlier this month, are split along party lines, meanwhile, with 51 percent of Republicans saying it is, compared with only 8 percent of Democrats.
Immigration
Trump made immigration a core issue in his 2024 campaign, promising to carry out the “largest deportation” effort in U.S. history. Since returning to office, he has enacted a hard-line immigration agenda that has seen his Administration not only crack down on illegal immigration with escalating enforcement campaigns and controversial raids, but also significantly restrict legal immigration pathways
According to an AP‑NORC poll conducted Dec. 4–8, half of Americans approve of how Trump is handling border security and immigration, down roughly 10 points since March.
The divide along party lines on his approach to the issue is striking. A vast majority of Republicans—92 percent—approve of Trump’s border enforcement, while only 19 percent of Democrats and 36 percent of independents do.
The late December Economist/YouGov poll similarly found that immigration remains the area on which Trump is viewed most favorably by Americans. But it showed an even sharper decline in approval of his handling of the issue since earlier this year, with the net rating dropping from a positive 14 points in March to a negative 6 in the most recent survey.
The economy
Americans are increasingly critical of the nation’s economic direction and President Donald Trump’s handling of the issue. The Gallup Economic Confidence Index sits at -33, its lowest point since July 2024. According to the AP/NORC poll, roughly seven in 10 adults describe the economy as “poor,” including eight in 10 Democrats and independents and four in 10 Republicans.
Last Wednesday, Trump delivered a nearly 20-minute address from the White in which he placed blame on Democrats for cost-of-living concerns, despite their lack of governing power for most of the year, while touting his own economic policies. “This happened during a Democrat administration. And it’s when we first began hearing the word ‘affordability,’” he said. “Over the past 11 months, we have brought more positive change to Washington than any administration in American history. There has never been anything like it.”
Public dissatisfaction with Trump’s approach to the economy has climbed since March, when 40 percent approved of his economic stewardship, according to the AP/NORC poll. That number has since slipped 9 points, mirroring the broader slide in his overall job approval.
Views of his handling of the economy are sharply divided along partisan lines, however. Fewer than one in 10 Democrats and around three in 10 independents now express a positive view of Trump’s job performance on the issue, compared with nearly seven in 10 Republicans.
The Economist/YouGov poll similarly found steep downturns in Americans’ views of Trump’s handling of jobs and the economy, with net approval dropping from a positive 12 in January to a negative 17 points in late December. The figure fell still more sharply for his approach to inflation and prices in the same period, from a positive 6 to a negative 28.
Disapproval for Congress—and the direction the U.S. is headed
Congress also faces historically low approval, according to Gallup, as it comes to the end of a year in which lawmakers passed Trump’s massively unpopular Big Beautiful Bill, came to an impasse on spending that led to the longest government shutdown in the country’s history, and failed to reach a deal on health care deal before the looming expiration of subsidies for coverage on the Affordable Care Act marketplace that is expected to lead to a surge in insurance premiums for millions of Americans in the new year.
Only 17 percent of Americans approve of the legislative branch, with Republicans at 29 percent approval and Democrats at an even lower 24 percent.
As 2025 enters its final days, satisfaction with the country's direction overall is also at just 24 percent.