US adults narrowly approve of President-elect Donald Trump’s plans and policies for the future, according to a report released on Friday by the Pew Research Center.
The analysis found that Americans rate Trump more warmly now, at 43% than after the 2016 or 2020 elections, at 36% and 34%, respectively. For the study, 9,609 US adults were surveyed online or by telephone with a live interview—in both English and Spanish—from November 12 to 17, 2024.
The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 1.5 percentage points.
Regarding presidential transitions, 70% are very or somewhat confident the transition to the Trump administration will go smoothly, with Republicans at 79% and Democrats at 64% saying the transition will go well.
As Trump was contesting election results four years ago, 26% expected the transition to go smoothly, the Pew Research Center reported.
Low marks were given to Trump for his efforts to reach out to Kamala Harris supporters, and 52% of Americans say it is extremely or very important for him to do so to unify the country.
Among Democrats, 73% say they are “fearful” about the state of the country, 54% feel “angry” and 29% feel “hopeful.”
Among Republicans, 76% say they feel hopeful about the state of the country and 46% say they are proud.
Increase in confidence in Trump
In September, 55% of those surveyed expressed confidence in Trump to make good decisions about economic policy, the report found, and after the election, 59% express confidence.
When asked about the phrase “cares about the needs of ordinary people,” 45% of Americans say the phrase describes Trump well, and 54% say the phrase does not describe him.