Poll Reveals Widespread Concern Over Trump's Second Term Direction
A significant majority of American adults now believe that Donald Trump is steering the United States in the wrong direction during his second presidency, according to a comprehensive new national poll released just before his State of the Union address. The NPR/PBS News/Marist survey, conducted from January 27 to 30, found that fifty-five percent of adults feel Trump is changing the country for the worse. This represents a substantial thirteen-point increase from similar polling conducted around the same period during his first term in office.
Growing Discontent Across Political Spectrum
The survey reveals that discontent with Trump's leadership has been steadily growing throughout his second term. The number of people who believe the country is moving in the wrong direction has increased by four percentage points since April alone. While political polarization remains evident in the responses, the data shows troubling trends for the president even within his own party.
As expected, opinions split dramatically along party lines. Ninety percent of Democrats believe the country is worse off than it was a year ago, while eighty-two percent of Republicans feel things have improved. However, the poll uncovers significant erosion of support among Republican voters themselves.
Declining Confidence in Republican Base
The survey indicates that Trump has lost substantial ground even among his most loyal supporters. In February 2025, seventy-five percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said they believed Trump possessed the mental fitness needed to perform the presidential duties effectively. By January of this year, that number had plummeted to just sixty-six percent.
Perhaps more tellingly, the number of Republicans who believe Trump acts ethically in office has experienced an even steeper decline. Over the same period, this measure dropped from fifty-five percent to just forty-two percent, suggesting growing concerns about presidential conduct within the president's own political base.
Broader Concerns About Democratic Institutions
The poll also reveals declining public confidence in America's system of checks and balances during Trump's second term. In March 2025, forty-three percent of US adults agreed that "the system of checks and balances dividing power between the president, Congress and the courts is working well." The new survey shows that number has fallen to just thirty-two percent, indicating growing skepticism about the effectiveness of America's democratic institutions.
These findings are corroborated by separate research from the Pew Research Center conducted in January. Their survey found that only twenty-seven percent of US adults support all or most of Trump's policies and plans, suggesting broad dissatisfaction with the administration's policy direction beyond just general leadership concerns.
Timing and Implications
The release of this polling data comes at a particularly sensitive political moment, arriving just one day before Trump's scheduled State of the Union address. Political analysts suggest these numbers may influence both the tone and content of the president's speech, as he attempts to address growing public concerns about his administration's direction.
The comprehensive survey, which sampled a nationally representative group of American adults, provides one of the most detailed snapshots yet of public opinion during Trump's second term. With declining support even among traditional Republican voters and growing concerns about democratic institutions, the data suggests significant challenges ahead for the administration as it navigates the remainder of its term.
