79% Of Voters Want The Government To Balance The Budget By Reducing Expenditures But Nearly Half Are Unsure By How Much. Elon Musk Favorability Drops From Neutral To 10-Point Net Unfavorable
Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW) released the results of the March Harvard CAPS / Harris poll, a monthly collaboration between the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard (CAPS) and the Harris Poll and HarrisX.
In his second month in office, President Donald Trump’s approval rating is at 49%, 3 points lower than February 2025, with majority approval among Republican, male, 25-64 y.o., white, and rural voters. Most of his policies continue to see strong support, with the deportation of illegal immigrants who have committed crimes (80%), closing the border (74%), and eliminating fraud and waste in government expenditures (72%) most popular. Tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada (50%) and renaming the Gulf of Mexico (39%) are his least popular policies. This month’s poll also covered public opinion on immigration, separation of powers, the budget, tariffs, and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and Ukraine.
“There’s still strong support for most of Trump’s policies while Democratic Party approval continues to nosedive,” said Mark Penn, Co-Director of the Harvard CAPS / Harris poll and Stagwell Chairman and CEO. “Opinions are still in formation as people are unsure how tariffs will affect the economy, but voters generally believe he is doing a better job than Biden.”
GENERAL MOOD ABOUT THE DIRECTION OF THE COUNTRY REMAINS MORE OPTIMISTIC THAN BIDEN TERM
- 38% of voters say the U.S. economy is on the right track, consistent with last month and up 10 points from January 2025.
- 33% of voters say their personal financial situation is improving (+2 pts. from February 2025), though more Democrats, Independents, women, 18-24 year-olds, Hispanics, and rural voters feel their situation worsening than improving.
- Inflation, the economy, and immigration remain the top three issues for voters, with 43% of voters saying inflation is the most important issue to them personally.
TRUMP APPROVAL RATINGS SEE SLIGHT DROP FROM LAST MONTH; KEY REPUBLICANS SEE MIXED FAVORABILITY
- 42% of voters say Trump is doing worse than expected (+7 pts, Feb. 2025), but 54% say Trump is doing a better job than Joe Biden as President (Democrats: 19%; Republicans: 89%; Independents: 50%).
- Trump’s approval ratings on key issues have dropped across the board, with voters most approving of his performance on immigration (53%), reducing the cost of the government (49%), and returning America to its values (49%).
- Voters have a more favorable view of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (+7 more favorable than unfavorable), and a more unfavorable view of Elon Musk (-10) and Pete Hegseth (-5). Voters are split on Marco Rubio and Trump.
DEMOCRATIC PARTY APPROVAL RATINGS REMAIN AT RECORD-LOW; MOST SAY THE PARTY NEEDS NEW MODERATE LEADERS
- 37% of voters approve of the Democratic Party (the lowest since at least March 2018 aside from February 2025 (36%)), with the majority of voter groups other than Democrats and Black voters disapproving. 34% of Democrats and 43% of Black voters disapprove.
- 71% of voters say the Democratic Party needs new moderate figures to lead the party into the 2026 midterms and 2028 election, including 57% of Democrat voters.
- 55% of voters support moderate Democrats who are willing to compromise with Trump on issues (Democrats: 27%; Republicans: 78%; Independents: 59%) over Democrats who want to fight harder against the administration.
- 57% of voters approve of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats supporting the GOP spending bill that funds the government until September 30 rather than holding the line on Democratic demands risking government shutdown (Democrats: 46%; Republicans: 71%; Independents: 51%).
MIXED VIEWS ON CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF ILLEGAL, STUDENT VISA, AND GREEN CARD MIGRANTS
- 58% of voters support birthright U.S. citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants (Democrats: 80%; Republicans: 40%; Independents: 56%), with 64% and a majority across parties believing it to be a constitutional requirement.
- 62% of voters say illegal immigrants should not have the same First Amendment rights as U.S. citizens and should be subject to deportation if they support causes counter to U.S. foreign policy.
- But 53% of voters say legal migrants on student visas have such rights, and 63% of voters say the same for green card holders (Democrats: 75%; Republicans: 40%; Independents: 64%).
- 69% of voters believe the federal government should have the authority to revoke green cards and deport individuals if it can prove active support for U.S.-designated terrorist organizations like Hamas (Democrats: 55%; Republican: 86%; Independents: 64%).
MAJORITY OF VOTERS BELIEVE POWER TO HALT A NATIONWIDE PROGRAM SHOULD BE RESERVED FOR A PANEL OF MULTIPLE JUDGES
- 56% of voters say the administration is exceeding its authority and getting hit with fair injunctions restraining its powers (Democrats: 73%; Republicans: 40%; Independents: 56%).
- 52% of voters say the president should be able to deport suspected members of Venezuelan criminal gangs without a court trial.
- 50% of voters believe a federal judge has the authority to turn around military planes under suspicion of wrongful immigration procedures.
- 52% of voters say federal judges are in general acting appropriately within their authority (Democrats: 66%; Republicans: 41%; Independents: 49%).
- But 69% of voters and a majority across parties say the power to halt a nationwide program should be reserved for a panel of judges rather than a single federal judge.
AMERICANS WANT TO BALANCE THE BUDGET AND CUT DOWN GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES BUT DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH TO CUT AND WHETHER MUSK AND DOGE ARE HELPING
- The majority of voters continue to say the current level of U.S. federal government debt is unsustainable (68%), the government should move to balance the budget in the next few years (83%), and it should do so by reducing government expenditures rather than increasing taxes (79%). But the plurality of voters (47%) are unsure how much expenditure to cut.
- 63% of voters perceive government expenditures are filled with waste, fraud, and inefficiency.
- 68% of voters support the goal of cutting $1 trillion of government expenditures, but only 42% believe Musk and DOGE will be able to hit the goal by the end of the year.
- 56% of voters say DOGE and Musk are helping make major cuts in government expenditures (Democrats: 33%; Republicans: 83%; Independents: 50%).
VOTERS BELIEVE U.S. SHOULD RESET TRADE AND TARIFF POLICIES WITH CHINA, MEXICO, AND CANADA
- Voters are split on whether Trump’s tariffs will end on better terms for the U.S. (51%) or if they will be counterproductive and worsen the economy (49%).
- 59% of voters say the U.S. should reset trade and tariff policies with China, Mexico, and Canada (Democrats: 45%; Republicans: 72%; Independents: 60%).
- The majority of voters believe China (67%) and Mexico (53%) are taking advantage of the U.S. in trade and tariff policies, while 54% believe Canada is acting fairly.
U.S. ACTIONS AGAINST IRAN AND HOUTHI TERRORISTS RECEIVE SUPPORT BUT MOST SAY IT WAS WRONG TO HOLD DISCUSSION ON SIGNAL APP
- Support for Israel over Hamas in the conflict (77%) remains unchanged. 54% of voters support Trump’s handling of the conflict (+21 points, Biden in January 2025).
- 72% of voters support destroying Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities, and 59% of voters say the U.S. should support Israel in airstrikes to do so.
- 71% of voters support the administration’s air strikes against Houthi terrorists who were firing missiles at U.S. warships and blocking shipping at the Suez Canal (Democrats: 58%; Republicans: 86%; Independents: 68%), with 60% of voters agreeing the U.S. was right to engage rather than leave it to Europe.
- 60% of voters, however, say it was wrong to hold the discussion on Houthi strikes over the Signal app. 56% believe the journalist was added deliberately.
- 54% of voters think the Signal app incident is a big deal with major ramifications (Democrats: 70%; Republicans: 41%; Independents: 52%) and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz should be fired.
MOST VOTERS WANT AN END TO THE WAR IN UKRAINE BUT ATTITUDES TOWARD TRUMP NEGOTIATIONS ARE MIXED
- 70% of voters want Ukraine to negotiate a settlement over continuing the war against Russia.
- 56% of voters are satisfied with how Trump is managing negotiations to end the war.
- 53% of voters do not perceive Trump as abandoning Ukraine in favor of Russia (Democrats: 29%; Republicans: 73%; Independents: 55%).
- Voters are split on whether Trump has been too tough on dealing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Too tough: 35%; Not tough enough: 34%; About right: 31%), but a majority (61%) think he has not been tough enough on dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The March Harvard CAPS / Harris poll survey was conducted online within the United States on March 26-27, 2025, among 2,746 registered voters by The Harris Poll and HarrisX. Follow the Harvard CAPS / Harris poll podcast at https://www.markpennpolls.com/ or on iHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.
