Americans’ ratings of Donald Trump on some dimensions have ticked up modestly since preelection surveys. For example, 59% now express confidence in Trump to make good decisions about economic policy, up from 55% in September.
On other evaluations, such as whether Trump is a good role model, public views are identical or nearly identical to those expressed before the election. And across a wide range of issues and personal characteristics, Republicans and Democrats remain sharply divided in their assessments of the president-elect.
Views of Trump’s ability to handle key issues
Nearly six-in-ten Americans (59%) express confidence in Trump to make good decisions about economic policy, including 35% who say they are very confident.
Narrower majorities express confidence in Trump to effectively handle law enforcement and criminal justice issues (54%), make wise decisions about immigration policy (53%) or make good decisions about foreign policy (53%).
By contrast, 54% say they are either not too confident (18%) or not at all confident (36%) in Trump’s ability to make good decisions about abortion policy. And 59% express little confidence in his ability to bring the country closer together.
Wide partisan gaps in confidence in Trump on issues
As is often the case for presidents, Republicans and Democrats express very different levels of confidence in Trump’s ability to handle several key issues facing the nation.
Seven-in-ten Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they are at least somewhat confident in Trump on all six of the issues asked about in the survey, while fewer than three-in-ten Democrats and Democratic leaners express this level of confidence in Trump on any of these issues. For example:
- Republicans and Democrats alike have the most confidence in Trump when it comes to the economy. Yet while 92% of Republicans are confident in Trump to make good decisions about economic policy, 27% of Democrats say the same.
- Republicans are also 58 percentage points more likely than Democrats to express confidence in Trump’s ability to bring the country closer together: 70% of Republicans and just 12% of Democrats say they are very or somewhat confident in Trump to do this.
Views of Trump’s personal traits
A 55% majority of Americans say the phrase “mentally sharp” describes Donald Trump very (28%) or fairly (27%) well, nearly identical to the 53% who said this in September.
Roughly half of the public (51%) says that Trump keeps his promises, including 22% who say this describes Trump very well.
Slightly fewer than half of Americans (45%) say the phrase “cares about the needs of ordinary people” describes Trump well; 54% say this phrase does not describe Trump.
Roughly four-in-ten (42%) say Trump is honest, while 37% describe him as even-tempered. Trump receives his lowest ratings on whether he is a good role model – about a third of Americans (34%) describe the president-elect this way.
Several of these traits have been asked in prior Pew Research Center surveys in both 2020 and 2024, and views of Trump’s mental sharpness, empathy and whether he is a good role model are largely unchanged. But ratings of his honesty and temperament are more positive than they were before the election:
- 42% say “honest” describes him at least fairly well today, up from 37% in September.
- 37% say “even-tempered” describes him at least fairly well, up from 30% in September.
Republican and Democratic views of Trump’s personal traits
Just as partisans are sharply divided in their views of Trump’s ability to handle key issues, they are similarly divided in their views of his personal characteristics.
Republicans are consistently much more likely than Democrats to say that positive descriptions apply to Trump.
In particular, eight-in-ten or more Republicans say he is mentally sharp (89% very/fairly well), keeps his promises (84%) and cares about the needs of ordinary people (82%). By comparison, narrower majorities of Republicans say he is a good role model (60%) and even-tempered (64%).
Fewer than a quarter of Democrats say any of these positive traits describe Trump.
Views of Trump’s ideology
Today, 64% of Americans say Trump has conservative views on most or almost all issues, 26% say he holds a mix of conservative and liberal positions on issues and 7% say his views are largely liberal.
The public’s perception of Trump’s ideological positioning has shifted substantially over time: Shortly after he was first elected in 2016, fewer than half (46%) of Americans said Trump was conservative on most or almost all issues.
Republicans and Democrats both view Trump as more conservative than they did eight years ago. The share of Democrats describing Trump’s views as conservative has increased to 68% from 46% in 2016. Among Republicans, the share describing Trump’s views this way has increased to 64% from 48% before his first term.
Feelings about Trump
Americans’ feelings about Trump are modestly more positive than they were at most other points since he entered political life. On a “feeling thermometer” where 0 is the coldest rating and 100 is the warmest, 48% give him a “cold” rating (0-49), while a smaller share (43%) rate him warmly (51-100). Roughly one-in-ten give him a neutral rating (50).
As has been the case since Trump first ran in the GOP primary in 2016, Democrats and Republicans take starkly different views of the president-elect.
Republicans’ views of Trump
In May 2016, about half of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (53%) expressed a warm view of Trump. By December 2016, after his first win, a much higher share of Republicans (73%) rated him warmly.
GOP views of Trump remained fairly stable through his first term in office – but warmed up during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. Then, roughly eight-in-ten rated him warmly, including 61% who expressed very warm feelings toward the president.
Republican feelings toward Trump cooled again after his election defeat in November 2020. Then, roughly seven-in-ten expressed warm feelings toward him – including about half who rated him very warmly (53%).
Today, Republicans and Republican leaners feel very warm toward Trump. About eight-in-ten (78%) rate him very warmly (60%) or warmly (18%), while relatively small shares say they have a neutral (8%) or cold (14%) view of him.
Democrats’ views of Trump
Democrats continue to view Trump in largely negative or cold terms. About eight-in-ten give him a cold rating, including 73% who give him a very cold rating.
Still, Democrats’ views of Trump are less cold today than they were throughout much of his presidency and post-presidency: From 2018 to 2022, roughly nine-in-ten Democrats gave him a cold rating.
Democrats are more negative about Trump today than they were shortly after his 2016 victory. In December 2016, 60% rated him very coldly. Today, 73% rate him very negatively.
