Is Donald Trump a “dangerous dictator” or a “strong leader”? Donald Trump is doing pretty terribly lately in traditional polls. But he’s also not doing great in nontraditional ones that ask less traditional polling questions.
Donald Trump, the Dictator?
The research firm PRRI released a new poll. It included the usual questions about favorability, which found that 40 percent of Americans “express favorable views of Donald Trump,” compared to 56 percent who say unfavorable. Meanwhile, 45 percent have a “very unfavorable view” of the president, which is more than view him as favorable.
It’s not the worst polling result for the president, whose favorability, in that survey, fell as low as 31 percent shortly after the January 6 attack.
On individual issues, per the PRRI survey, Trump is underwater on everything, including his handling of immigration (48 percent), the economy (41 percent), and the Russia-Ukraine war (40 percent.)
There is also strong opposition to many of Trump’s early executive orders.
When asked if Trump has “overstepped his authority by ordering the mass firing of federal employees across multiple agencies,” 55 percent of Americans said yes. An even larger majority, of 78 percent, oppose a federal task force on anti-Christian bias.
Another 71 percent of Americans “oppose closing or drastically shrinking all major federal agencies, while nearly two-thirds of Americans, 65 percent, oppose the implementation of new tariffs. Nearly as many Americans in the survey, 64 percent, support the continued existence of birthright citizenship for those born in the United States.
“Dangerous Dictator”?
In the part of the survey that asked less conventional questions, respondents were asked if they agreed with the statement that “President Trump is a dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy.” To that, 52 percent answered that they agreed.
When asked if they agreed with the statement that “President Trump is a strong leader who should be given the power he needs to restore America’s greatness,” 44 percent said they agreed, with the answers mostly falling along party lines. Independents, however, were more likely to agree with the “dangerous dictator” statement than the “strong leader” one.
The poll also questioned an underserved demographic: Non-voters. Of those who did not vote in the 2024 election, 54 percent agreed with the “dangerous dictator” statement, while 39 percent saw him as a strong leader.
The answers to that question were also broken down by religious and racial demographic categories.
Of white evangelical Protestants, 73 percent agreed with the “strong leader” answer, as did 66 percent of Latter-Day Saints, 56 percent of white Catholics and 54 percent of white mainline-non-evangelical Protestants.
However, other demographics were more partial to the “dangerous dictator” answer, including “71% of Black Protestants, 69% of Hispanic Catholics, 65% of unaffiliated Americans, 64% of Jewish Americans, 63% of other non-Christians, and 58% of Hispanic Protestants,” per the PRRI survey.
On Executive Power
The survey asked what they think about the question of the expansion of executive power.
When asked, “Because things have gotten so far off track, we need a president who is willing to break some laws if that’s what it takes to save the country,” just 20 percent of survey respondents said yes. Only 17 percent of those asked agreed that the president should postpone the 2026 midterm elections, or that the president should be allowed to serve more than the constitutionally allotted two terms.
When asked “when decisions by Congress or the Supreme Court hold our country back, the president should be able to ignore them,” 78 percent of Americans disagreed.
Regrets?
The PRRI survey also found that most voters don’t regret their vote choice last November. Of those who voted for Kamala Harris, 95 percent are satisfied with their vote, compared to 92 percent who voted for Trump and 85 percent of those who voted for other candidates.
Of those who didn’t vote in 2024, 31 percent say they regret their decision.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
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.
