What Americans think about Trump's first year back in office, according
to AP-NORC polling
[January 16, 2026]
By LINLEY SANDERS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s second term has been
eventful. You wouldn’t know it from his approval numbers.
An AP-NORC poll from January found that about 4 in 10 U.S. adults
approve of Trump’s performance as president. That’s virtually unchanged
from March 2025, shortly after he took office for the second time.
The new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs
Research does show subtle signs of vulnerability for the Republican
president. Trump hasn’t convinced Americans that the economy is in good
shape, and many question whether he has the right priorities when he’s
increasingly focused on foreign intervention. His approval rating on
immigration, one of his signature issues, has also slipped since he took
office.
Here’s how Americans’ views of Trump have — and haven’t — changed over
the past year, according to AP-NORC polling.
About 4 in 10 Americans consistently approved of Trump's performance
Call it a gift or a curse — for all his unpredictability, Trump's
approval numbers just don't change very much.
This was largely the case during his first term in office, too. Early in
his first term, 42% of Americans approved of how he was handling the
presidency. There were some ups and downs over the ensuing years, but he
left office with almost the same approval.
That level of consistency on presidential approval numbers could be the
new normal for U.S. politics — or it could be unique to Trump. Gallup
polling since the 1950s shows that presidential approval ratings have
grown less variable over time. But President Joe Biden had a slightly
different experience. Biden, a Democrat, entered the White House with
higher approval numbers than Trump has ever received, but those fell
rapidly during his first two years in office, then stayed low for the
remainder of his term.
Most Americans have held a critical view of Trump throughout his time in
office, and Americans are twice as likely to say he's focused on the
wrong priorities than the right ones. About half of U.S. adults say he’s
mostly focusing on the wrong priorities one year into his second term,
and approximately 2 in 10 say he’s mostly focused on the right
priorities. Another 2 in 10, roughly, say it’s been about an even mix,
and 14% say they don't have an opinion.
Challenges on the economy
The economy has haunted Trump in his first year back in the White House,
despite his insistence that “the Trump economic boom has officially
begun.”
Just 37% of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling the economy.
That’s up slightly from 31% in December — which marked a low point for
Trump — but Trump started out with low approval on this issue, which
doesn’t give him a lot of room for error.
The economy is a new problem for Trump. His approval rating on this
issue in his first term fluctuated, but it was typically higher. Close
to half of Americans approved of Trump’s economic approach for much of
his first White House stint, and he’s struggled to adjust to this as a
weak point. Americans care a lot more about costs than they did in
Trump’s first term, and, like Biden, he’s persistently asserted that the
U.S. economy is not a problem while the vast majority describe it as
“poor.”
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President Donald Trump waves after arriving on Air Force One from
Florida, Jan. 11, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Julia
Demaree Nikhinson, File)
About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say Trump has done more to hurt the cost
of living in his second term, while only about 2 in 10 say he’s done
more to help. About one-quarter say he hasn't made an impact.
Views of Trump’s handling of immigration have declined
When Trump entered office, immigration was among his strongest
issues. It’s since faded, a troubling sign for Trump, who campaigned
on both economic prosperity and crackdowns to illegal immigration.
Just 38% of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling
immigration, down from 49% in March. The poll was conducted Jan.
8-11, shortly after the death of Renee Good, who was shot and killed
by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in
Minneapolis.
But there are signs that Americans still give Trump some leeway on
immigration issues. About half of U.S. adults say Trump has “gone
too far” when it comes to deporting immigrants living in the country
illegally, which is unchanged since April, despite an immigration
crackdown that spread to cities across the U.S. in the second half
of the year.
Nearly half of Americans, 45%, say Trump has helped immigration and
border security “a lot” or “a little” in his second term. This is an
area where Democrats are more willing to give Trump some credit.
About 2 in 10 Democrats say Trump has helped on this issue, higher
than the share of Democrats who say he's helped on costs or job
creation.
As Trump turns to foreign policy, most Americans disapprove of
his approach
Trump has focused his attention more on foreign policy in his second
term, and polling shows most Americans disapprove of his approach.
But much like Trump's overall approval, views of his handling of
foreign policy have changed little in his second term, despite
wide-ranging actions including his push to control Greenland and the
recent military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
About 6 in 10 Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling the
issue of foreign policy, and most Americans, 56%, say Trump has
“gone too far” in using the U.S. military to intervene in other
countries.
Trump’s continued focus on global issues could be a liability given
its sharp contrast with the “America First” platform he ran on and
Americans’ growing concern with costs at home. But it could also be
hard to shift views on the issue — even if Trump takes more dramatic
action in the coming months.
___
The AP-NORC poll of 1,203 adults was conducted Jan. 8-11 using a
sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which
is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin
of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage
points.
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