Majority believes Trump moving US in wrong direction, poll finds | Donald Trump

Most American adults think Donald Trump is moving the country in the wrong direction during his second presidency, according to a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released the day before his State of the Union address.

Fifty-five percent of adults believe Trump is changing the country for the worse, an increase of 13 points from the same period of his first presidency, according to the survey conducted Jan. 27-30.

The number of people sharing this view also increased by four points compared to April.

Unsurprisingly, support for the president divides the parties.

Ninety percent of Democrats think the country is worse off than it was a year ago; 82% of Republicans believe things have improved.

Confidence in the democratic system of government also declined during the first year of Trump’s second term.

In March 2025, 43% of American adults said they agreed that “the system of checks and balances that divides power between the president, Congress, and the courts works well.”

Only 32% said they felt this way in the new survey.

A Pew Research Center survey conducted in January also found that Trump’s actions in the second term are not popular. Only 27% of American adults said they support all or most of his policies and plans.

He has lost some support, even among Republicans. In February 2025, 75% of people who were Republican or Republican-leaning said they thought he had the mental fitness to do the job. By January, that figure had fallen to 66%.

The number of Republicans who believe Trump acts ethically while in office has also declined, from 55% to 42% during the same period.