(Bloomberg) — Voters are starting to sour on the state of the US economy even as the start of President Donald Trump’s second term has boosted positivity about the nation as a whole, an NBC News poll shows.
A majority of voters say they have negative views of Elon Musk, the billionaire Trump adviser tasked with slashing the federal government via the Department of Government Efficiency. The Democratic Party, meanwhile, hit a new polling low.
More registered voters see the US headed in the right direction than at any point since early 2004, at 44%, although a majority still say the nation is on the wrong track. The share of Republicans identifying as supporters of Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement has grown.
A majority of voters – 54% – disapproved of Trump’s handling of the economy in the first weeks of his term, and 55% disapproved of his handling of inflation and the cost of living. Just 18% of voters rate the US economy as “excellent” or “good,” with pessimism among Democrats a feature.
Trump’s overall approval rating was as high as it’s ever been, at 47%, although a majority – 51% – disapproves of him, according to the poll. Fully 36% reported “very positive” views of the president, up from 29% in November.
The Democratic Party posted its lowest favorability rating in the history of the NBC News poll. Just 27% of registered voters – and only 59% of self-identified Democrats – viewed the party positively.
“With these numbers, the Democratic Party is not in need of a rebrand. It needs to be rebooted,” said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, who conducted the survey along with GOP pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies.
Self-identified Democrats say they want the party to hold the line on positions, even if it leads to gridlock.
The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters from March 7-11 via telephone interviews and an online survey sent via text message. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
(Updates with additional details from third paragraph.)
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