A majority of Americans say they are optimistic about the policies President-elect Trump will pursue in his second term, according to a new poll from Monmouth University.
The poll found that 53% of Americans are either very or somewhat optimistic about Trump’s upcoming term. This marks a slight increase from the weeks leading up to his first term, when 50% expressed optimism. The only group showing a decline in optimism compared to 2016 are Democrats, with just 10% expressing positive expectations for the next four years.
“It should come as no surprise there is a stark partisan divide on the Trump agenda. The real question is how these policies will affect American families, especially among those who voted for Trump in 2024,” Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a statement.
The survey also revealed that Trump’s least popular policy is his tariff agenda, with 47% of respondents saying they believe tariffs will hurt their families, compared to just 23% who say the policy will help. One of Trump’s most popular proposals is his plan to eliminate income taxes on certain wages, with 48% saying it will benefit their families, and just 15% expecting it to hurt.
Monmouth conducted the poll between Dec. 5 and Dec. 10, interviewing 1,006 U.S. adults through phone and online surveys. The margin of error is 3.9%.
The poll was released as Trump prepares for his second inauguration and escalates his criticism of perceived media adversaries. On Tuesday, Trump filed a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and pollster Ann Selzer, alleging “brazen election interference” related to a final 2024 Iowa presidential poll. The suit claims the poll, released days before the election, falsely showed Vice President Kamala Harris leading Trump in Iowa—a state he ultimately won by 13 points.
The lawsuit, filed in Polk County, Iowa, cites the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act, accusing Selzer and the Register’s parent company, Gannett, of deliberate misconduct. “The Harris Poll was no ‘miss’ but rather an attempt to influence the outcome of the 2024 Presidential Election,” the lawsuit states, asserting that the poll aimed to create “a false narrative of inevitability” for Harris.
Trump’s legal team criticized Selzer’s polling history, alleging bias toward Democrats and calling her final 2024 poll “one of the worst polling misses of her career.” The filing states that Selzer “retired in disgrace” less than two weeks after the election.
“The November 5 election was a monumental victory for President Trump in both the Electoral College and the Popular Vote,” the lawsuit claims, describing it as a decisive mandate for Trump’s “America First principles” and a rejection of “the radical socialist agenda.”
President-elect Trump is set to be inaugurated for a second term on Jan. 20, 2025.
