Opinion Weekend
February 15-16, 2025
Most Americans say it would be ‘too risky’ to give presidents, including Trump, more power Gabriel Borelli, Pew Research Center In his first few weeks in office, President Donald Trump has moved quickly to assert – and attempt to expand – the power of the presidency. He has issued a record number of early-term executive orders and taken accompanying actions, many of which face legal challenges. But a new Pew Research Center survey finds that Americans are skeptical about expanding the scope of presidential powers – both for Trump specifically and for presidents in general.
Which issues are Americans most likely to trust Donald Trump to handle as president? Jamie Ballard, YouGov A new YouGov survey explored which of 20 issues Americans are most likely to say they trust Donald Trump to handle as president, and which of 20 descriptors they think apply to him.
How America feels about the reshaping of the federal government Clifford Young, Bernard Mendez & Sarah Feldman, Ipsos Five charts on how Americans feel about Trump, the Trump administration’s attempts at revising the federal government, and what these changes could mean for the Trump administration going forward
Where US adults think the government is spending too much, according to AP-NORC polling Linley Sanders, Associated Press Many U.S. adults believe the federal government is overspending — but polling also shows that many Americans, including Republicans, think the country is spending too little on major government programs such as Social Security.
Muted support for recent immigration crackdowns Mallory Newall, Chris Jackson, Johnny Sawyer and Sarah Feldman, Ipsos NPR/Ipsos poll shows a shift toward more restrictive immigration policy over time, but new proposals fail to receive majority support
New poll details America's views on Trump's immigration plans: deportation, citizenship, border wall Joel Rose, NPR News A new NPR/Ipsos poll shows growing support for some restrictions on immigration. Still, many elements of President Trump's sweeping crackdown are unpopular with Democrats and independents. The Complex Landscape of Public Opinion on Deportation Frank Newport, Gallup Public opinion on deportation is as complicated as the underlying challenges of deportation itself. The public is in essence saying, “Tell me more about the specifics” when asked a general question about deportation. And it is clear that such specifics can shift Americans’ views dramatically in the direction of stronger support and, in other instances, in the direction of stronger opposition. How Americans really feel about deporting immigrants – 3 charts explain the conflicting headlines from recent polls Leo Gugerty (Clemson), The Conversation Despite the recent uptick in Republican support for mass deportation, a clear majority of people in the U.S. would rather give undocumented immigrants a path to legal status than have them deported. This has remained true for eight years.
Americans’ views of the war in Ukraine continue to differ by party Moira Fagan, Pew Research Center Americans remain largely divided along partisan lines over U.S. aid to Ukraine, nearly three years after Russia’s military invasion. Republicans and Democrats also differ widely over whether the United States benefits from NATO membership and whether European countries are spending enough on their own defense, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted Feb. 3-9, 2025.
Many Americans say the election results have changed their news consumption and purchases Jamie Ballard, YouGov A new YouGov survey finds that the results of the 2024 election have many Americans thinking differently about many aspects of their life, including where they want to live, their health care, and their finances.
Do Americans and Canadians want California, Oregon, and Washington to join Canada? Franchesca Fu, YouGov Half (51%) of Americans and 43% of Canadians say they strongly or somewhat oppose California, Oregon, and Washington becoming a part of Canada. Canadians are more likely than Americans to support the three West Coast states joining Canada (35% vs. 23%).
Two in Three Are Concerned Republicans’ New Tax Plan Will Mostly Benefit the Wealthy & Big Corporations Bryan Bennett, Navigator Research This Navigator Research report covers attitudes toward both the 2017 tax law enacted during President Trump’s first term and Trump and Republicans’ new tax plans for this year.
