Americans Back Trump's Agenda, Not His Persona, Says Survey

According to a new survey released on Saturday, a significant number of Americans back President-elect Trump's proposed actions on immigration and tariffs, yet they do not support him as an individual.

About 87 percent of respondents support deporting illegal immigrants in the U.S. who have a criminal record, showed The New York Times/Ipsos poll, a promise President-elect Trump made during his 2024 campaign to take strong action on immigration.

55 percent, a near majority of respondents, indicated they are in favor of deporting all immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, while 42 percent were against such a measure, reflecting a divided opinion on the issue of illegal immigration.

A majority of people believe that the U.S. economic system "unfairly favors the wealthy."

According to the poll, about 41 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that immigrants are a "burden" to the country, while a majority of 56 percent believed that immigrants "strengthen our country," highlighting differing views on the impact of immigration.

A major focus of Trump's campaign was his commitment to implementing tariffs. In November, he threatened to impose new tariffs on the U.S.'s largest trading partners—Canada, Mexico, and China—to push them to take stronger measures against the influx of fentanyl and to further secure their borders.

According to Trump, Mexico and Canada would face a 25 percent tariff, while China would be subject to a 10 percent tariff under his plan. A higher number of people surveyed oppose increasing tariffs on imports from Mexico and China. About 45 percent indicated they "strongly" or "somewhat" support the tariffs, whereas 50 percent disagreed. Around 4 percent chose not to answer. Despite this, 81 percent of Americans believe it is "very" or "somewhat" likely that Trump will push for higher tariffs on China and Mexico.

In the poll, 27 percent of respondents expressed concern or pessimism about negative perceptions of Trump's character, behavior, and criminal convictions during his second term. Following that, 13 percent highlighted favoritism, abuse of power, and corruption as their main worries.