President Donald Trump’s approval rating remains steady at 45% as his second term progresses, with deep partisan divides shaping public opinion. A Marquette Law School Poll reveals Republicans largely support Trump’s policies, while Democrats widely disapprove, particularly over his ‘one big, beautiful bill’ and deportation agenda. Independent voters remain significantly more disapproving, with 62% expressing negative views.
Trump’s overwhelming approval among Republicans, at 86%, and disapproval among Democrats, at 93%, have remained consistent since the start of his second term, according to the four Marquette Law School Poll national surveys conducted this year. His megabill includes tax cuts, funding for border security, Medicaid reform and an American energy overhaul, among other fulfillments of Trump’s 2024 campaign promises. A Republican-led Congress passed the bill through the reconciliation process, and Trump signed the bill by a self-imposed July 4 deadline.
According to the poll, 59% of all adults disapprove of Trump’s ‘one big, beautiful bill.’ Democrats almost unanimously disapprove of the bill, at 94%, while 79% of Republicans said they support it. Some conservative fiscal hawks, including Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who voted against the bill, sounded the alarm on the megabill adding to the federal deficit. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) dynamic analysis found it would raise budget deficits by an estimated $2.4 trillion over a decade.
Sixty-eight percent of people think the federal deficit will increase, up 52% from the last survey in May. And that number nearly doubled among Republicans from 22% in May to 44% in July. Fifty-nine percent of Americans surveyed think Trump’s tariff plans will hurt the U.S. economy. Inflation is the top issue facing the country for 34% of Americans, followed by the economy at 16% in July. Meanwhile, just 28% of Americans think Trump’s policies will bring down inflation, and 60% say his policies will increase inflation.
Those views on the economy are split along party lines, as a majority of Republicans believe Trump will decrease inflation and majorities of Independents and Democrats think his policies will increase inflation, per the survey. Among Trump’s leading issue of deporting illegal immigrants, 57% favor and 43% oppose his deportation rollout, which is lower than in May, when 66% were in favor and 34% were opposed.
This polling follows a surge in violence against federal immigration authorities and protests rejecting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) erupting across the country, particularly in Los Angeles, where Trump authorized the National Guard to disrupt protests that delved into riots last month. Republicans continue their overwhelming support for deportations, but a majority of Independents are now opposed, following a decline from May to July. Meanwhile, disapproval among Democrats rose 17 percentage points from May to July.
According to the poll, 55% of Americans believe the United States is mostly deporting immigrants with no criminal record, with most Republicans agreeing, while majorities of Independents and Democrats think deportations mostly involve those without criminal records. Trump has aggressively asserted executive authority in his second term, overturning longstanding government policy and aiming to make major cuts to the federal workforce through an avalanche of sweeping and controversial executive orders and actions, with some aimed at addressing grievances he has held since his first term.
The president started his second administration with poll numbers in positive territory, but his poll numbers started to slide soon after his late-January inauguration. His approval ratings sank underwater by early March and have remained in negative territory ever since in most national surveys. The president’s approval ratings were underwater in 17 of the 21 national polls conducted so far in July.
Sunday marked six months since Trump started his second tour of duty in the White House. Former President Joe Biden, whose single term in the White House is sandwiched by Trump’s two terms, enjoyed positive approval ratings in July 2021, six months into his tenure. However, Biden’s numbers were sinking at the time, and dropped into negative territory in the late summer and autumn of 2021, after his much-criticized handling of the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan and amid soaring inflation and a surge of migrants crossing into the U.S. along the nation’s southern border with Mexico. Biden’s approval ratings remained underwater for the rest of his presidency.