CNN Poll: Americans worried by Trump’s push to expand power

At the one-month mark of Donald Trump’s second term as president, his approval rating in a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS tilts negative but still lands above the level he reached at any point in his first four years in office.

At the one-month mark of Donald Trump’s second term as president, his approval rating in a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS tilts negative but still lands above the level he reached at any point in his first four years in office. There are signs in the poll, though, that the warmer welcome Trump has received this time around could be fleeting, as optimism about his return to office has slipped since December. A broad majority feel the president isn’t doing enough to address the high prices of everyday goods. And 52% say he’s gone too far in using his presidential power, with similar majorities wary of his push to shutter federal agencies and elevate Elon Musk to a prominent role in his efforts to reshape the government. Americans divide on Trump’s performance in office thus far, with 47% approving and 52% disapproving, below the start-of-term ratings for any recent presidency other than his own. For most of the public, Trump’s actions are lining up with their expectations: Three-quarters say his handling of the presidency has been in line with what they expected while 25% say he’s handled it in an unexpected way, similar to how people felt a few weeks into his first term. All told, 41% say both that Trump is handling the presidency as expected and that his living up to their expectations is a positive. Nearly all of those who feel caught off guard describe that as a bad thing, but the group who feels surprised in a bad way by Trump’s actions makes up only 21% of all Americans. Most adults nationwide, 55%, say that Trump has not paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems and 62% feel he has not gone far enough in trying to reduce the price of everyday goods. Sizable shares across party lines share the latter view, including 47% of Republicans, 65% of independents and 73% of Democrats. In CNN’s January polling, the economy eclipsed all other issues as Americans’ top concern. More describe themselves as pessimistic or afraid when looking ahead to the rest of Trump’s second term (54%) than say they feel enthusiastic or optimistic about it (46%). In December, 52% were on the positive side, 48% negative. Notably, the share saying they feel “afraid” has climbed 6 points to 35%, rising by a roughly equal share across partisan lines.