Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Trump's disapproval rating jumps after blitz of executive orders

The latest poll follows Trump’s series of sweeping executive orders cracking down on immigration and announcing an to end birthright citizenship

Rhian Lubin
in New York
Wednesday 29 January 2025 17:10 EST
Comments
Trump signs the Laken Riley Act into law as loved ones look on

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Donald Trump’s disapproval rating shot up following his first week as president as his administration ushered through a series of executive orders cracking down on immigration and beginning to fulfill MAGA pledges.

As Trump’s administration carried out immigration raids in cities across the U.S., and the president signed an executive order ending birthright citizenship (which has since been held up by a federal judge), the president’s disapproval rating increased by five percent, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Trump’s disapproval rating jumped to 46 percent in the latest poll that closed Sunday, up from 39 percent on the day he took office, according to two separate Reuters/Ipsos polls.

The day Trump took office 47 percent of Americans approved of his performance as president, according to the poll. But in the second poll ending Sunday, his approval rating dipped to 45 percent.

By comparison, when Joe Biden entered office in January 2021 his approval rating was 57 percent and held steady after his first week as president, according to Gallup.

Trump’s disapproval rating has gone up by five percent since he entered office.
Trump’s disapproval rating has gone up by five percent since he entered office. (Getty Images)

Biden’s disapproval went from 37 percent when he entered office to 40 percent in mid-February 2021, the poll found. Barack Obama’s approval rating was 68 percent when he entered office in 2009, while his disapproval rating was 12 percent.

Trump was more popular when he began his second term than he was at the same time in 2017 at the start of his previous administration.

When Trump first entered office in January 2017, his approval rating was 40 percent.

He enjoyed an approval bump during his first few weeks to 49 percent, but the rating dropped to 34 percent by the end of his first term following the January 6 Capitol riots.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that most Americans are opposed to ending birthright citizenship to children born in the U.S. even if neither parent has legal immigration status.

The Trump administration has issued a series of executive orders cracking down on immigration
The Trump administration has issued a series of executive orders cracking down on immigration (via REUTERS)

A majority of 59 percent of Americans have said they oppose ending birthright citizenship.

The executive order ending birthright citizenship was temporarily blocked last week by a federal judge. District Judge John Coughenour, who ruled in a lawsuit brought by several states seeking to overturn Trump’s order, delivered a blistering criticism of the president’s “blatantly unconstitutional” action from the bench in a Seattle courtroom last Thursday.

“I’ve been on the bench for over four decades. I can’t remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one is. This is a blatantly unconstitutional order,” said the Ronald Reagan appointee.

Sevnety percent of respondents polled also oppose Trump’s renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in another one of Trump’s many executive orders.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in