Key Points – A new Marist Poll reveals significant public dissatisfaction with President Trump’s first 100 days in his second term, with 45% of Americans giving him an “F” grade—the most frequent response.
-His overall job approval stands at 42%, with 53% disapproving, a wider negative margin than in March.
-Majorities also disapprove of his handling of the economy, tariffs, foreign policy, and immigration.
-Over half feel the country is heading in the wrong direction under Trump. Meanwhile, the President continues his pattern of attacking unfavorable polls, recently targeting NYT, WaPo, and Fox pollsters.
Donald Trump Has Failed As President According to Many Americans
It’s a chart that sort of says it all: The Marist Poll asked Americans their opinion on what grade they would give President Trump for the first 100 days of his second presidency, with choices of A, B, C, D, and F.
The answer given by the most respondents, by far, was F, with 45 percent. 23 percent answered A, 17 percent said B, 8 percent answered C and 7 percent said D.
According to Marist’s write-up of the poll, 54 percent of Republicans gave Trump an A, with 29 percent of them giving the president a B for his first hundred days. But among independents, nearly half (49 percent) opted to give Trump an F.
The poll was released in partnership with NPR and PBS.
Not a Great Approval Rating, Either
As for traditional approval rating, 42 percent of respondents to Marist’s poll approve of the president’s job performance, compared to 53 percent who disapprove. Those numbers were 45 percent approval and 49 percent disapproval in March, so the spread has widened.
The Marist result is worse than the RealClearPolling average, which has Trump at an average of 45.1 percent approval and 52.3 percent disapproval. The Marist poll is included in the RCP average, in which most major polls have Trump underwater, although one recent poll from Emerson College shows a tie.
Marist also asked about individual issues. Trump’s handling of the economy is approved by 39 percent of Americans, with 55 percent disapproving, although that number, too, has a major partisan split.
On the question of tariffs and Trump’s handling of them, just over a third of Americans, 34 percent, approve, while 58 percent disapprove, including 90 percent of Democrats. On foreign policy, 39 percent of respondents approve of Trump’s handling, with 53 percent disapproving. And on immigration, long the issue on which the president has polled the strongest, 44 percent of Americans approve and 53 percent disapprove, per the poll.
Getting More Specific
The Marist poll also asked some specific questions about respondents’ views on certain people and controversies.
Of those asked, 51 percent “describe the direction in which President Trump is moving the country as change for the worse.” A full 61 percent say Trump is “moving too quickly.” Another 49 percent say Trump’s policies have negatively impacted them, including 52 percent of self-identified independents.
And in one of those questions that wouldn’t ever be asked about another president, a full 85 percent of Americans agreed that “the president should obey federal court rulings even if he does not like the rulings.”
A full 60 percent say that the “nation’s current economic conditions are mostly a result of President Trump’s own policies.” And after Trump was elected based in part on continuing concerns about inflation, nearly two-thirds of Americans, 64 percent, said they expected grocery prices to go up in the next six months.
Just under a majority, 49 percent, disapprove of how Trump has handled the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, although 35 percent approve and 15 percent are unsure.
Trump Hates Polling
Trump has made clear that he blames the messenger for bad polling. After already suing respected Iowa pollster Ann Selzer and demanding Fox News fire their own pollster, Trump took to Truth Social this week and appeared to allege a grand conspiracy among pollsters to hurt him.
“These people should be investigated for ELECTION FRAUD, and add in the FoxNews Pollster while you’re at it,” Trump said in the post about the pollsters for the New York Times and Washington Post. “They are Negative Criminals who apologize to their subscribers and readers after I WIN ELECTIONS BIG, much bigger than their polls showed I would win, loose a lot of credibility, and then go on cheating and lying for the next cycle, only worse.”
The administration does not appear to have commented on the Marist Poll specifically.
About the Author:
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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