Trump's turbulent start: Plummeting poll numbers and public dissent

The inauguration of Donald Trump's second term occurred on 20 January. After a month, CNN undertook an analysis of the Republican politician's support amongst the American public. The findings are surprising: Trump is losing supporters at a rapid pace.

In a poll conducted by CNN, support for Trump in the last week dropped by 5 percentage points. In a Gallup poll, the drop reaches 6 points, and in Q-Pac, 4 points. "In all of these surveys, Trump is clearly sinking," CNN journalist Harry Enten stated on camera, while analysing the latest polls.

Trump returned to the White House after a four-year hiatus, and his electoral victory is largely attributed - according to experts - to his promises to revitalise the US economy. When his economic strategies were polled in February 2017, shortly after the commencement of his first term, an average increase of 5 per cent was noted.

Currently, Trump's economic policy seemingly raises concerns among Americans, as a month into his term, an 8 per cent drop in support for his ideas was recorded. "It's shocking," Harry Enten stated, referring to the fact that the economy was pivotal in the politician's campaign.

CNN concluded that "Trump's honeymoon period may be ending." The editorial also points to other polls released in recent days. In the CNN/SSRS and "The Washington Post"/Ipsos surveys, the number of the president's critics outweighs his supporters (47-52, 45-53).

A significant portion of voters believes that Donald Trump exceeded his authority by giving too much power to Elon Musk. The controversial billionaire has taken charge of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and is seeking savings within the American administration.

Elon Musk has ordered, amongst other things, employees of federal agencies in the USA to send an email detailing what they accomplished at work in the previous week. A lack of response will be regarded as a resignation.

In "The Washington Post" survey, as many as 58 per cent of respondents opposed the idea of mass layoffs of federal employees. Musk himself also has poor ratings. Only 34 per cent of respondents spoke positively about his role in the Trump administration.

Meanwhile, in the CNN poll, we learnt that 54 per cent of respondents negatively assess Trump's decision to entrust Musk with such a notable role.

A total of 62 per cent of respondents (including 47 per cent of Republicans) in the CNN poll believe that during the first month, Trump "did not do enough to try to lower the prices of everyday products."

After taking office, Trump began implementing a strategy of imposing tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China, and the European Union. This too raises concerns among Americans. As many as 69 per cent of respondents in "The Washington Post" survey believe it will lead to price increases in the United States.

The Trump administration, however, pays little attention to polling data. According to Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields, despite negative media coverage, Americans are genuinely satisfied with the country's direction. He argued that there is little to criticize, as the administration is reversing the previous administration's unpopular policies, eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse, and continuing efforts to strengthen the nation.

Trump last Friday on his social media platform, Truth Social, announced that he's recording "the best polls he's ever had" while sharply criticising the policies of his predecessors. Speaking about the polls, he also declared a few days ago, much to the truth's detriment, that Zelensky doesn't have support among Ukrainians and called him a "dictator."

Trump announced at that time that Zelensky is supported by only 4 per cent of the public. It turns out that as many as 63 per cent of Ukrainians fully or partially support Volodymyr Zelensky's actions as the president of Ukraine, informed the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KMIS) on Friday, which published new public opinion survey results.