Most Americans say Donald Trump is using his office for personal gain

35% of Americans strongly or somewhat approve of Donald Trump's job performance, and 61% disapprove, according to the latest Economist / YouGov Poll. That puts Trump's net job approval at -25, just above the lowest level in either of his terms (-26) and below its level for the last several weeks.

Trump's net approval of -25 also is lower than Joe Biden's net approval at this stage of his presidency (-14) , and lower than Biden ever reached (-23, on several occasions in his final year in office).

Trump's approval is lower than Biden's despite Trump having more support from Republicans than Biden had among Democrats at this point in his term (+68 vs. +60 average net approval over the previous three weeks). However, Trump's support among Republicans is lower now than it was at this point in his first term (+77 three-week average net approval).

A big reason why Trump is near his lowest job approval despite maintaining strong support from Republicans is that he has far less support from Independents than he did in his first term. 71% of Independents strongly or somewhat disapprove of Trump's job performance, and only 21% approve — a net approval of -51, the lowest ever for Trump. At this point in Trump's first term, his net approval among Independents was close to break-even at -6.

Trump has near-unanimous disapproval among the 19% of Independents who lean toward the Democratic Party (-99 net approval). In contrast, most Republican-leaning Independents approve of Trump but a sizable minority disapproves: 66% approve and 30% disapprove, for a net of +36. Among Independents who lean to neither party, only 17% approve of Trump's job handling while 73% disapprove (-56).

51% of Americans say they strongly disapprove of Trump's job performance, tied for the high in either of his terms. Only 20% strongly approve.

Majorities of Americans object to how Trump is handling important issues including the economy (-31 net approval) and inflation (-40). Many also have concerns about Trump's personal behavior. 60% of Americans say Trump is using his office for personal gain and only 27% say he isn't. While 66% of Republicans say Trump isn't using his office for personal gain, Republicans who are MAGA supporters overwhelmingly say Trump isn't (81%), but non-MAGA Republicans are more closely divided: 34% say Trump is using his office for personal gain and 43% say he isn't.

The Economist and YouGov also asked Americans about a particular Trump-related dispute: the new Air Force One jet donated by the country of Qatar. The new jet is painted in a red, white, and blue color scheme, which 36% of Americans say they like better than Air Force One's old blue-and-white design, preferred by 25%.

The poll showed respondents images of both jets without identifying which one was the old design and which one was the new. More Democrats prefer the old blue-and-white design than the new one (40% prefer the old design and 28% the new), while Republicans were more likely to like the new design (13% prefer the old design and 50% the new).

Despite Americans' slight preference for the new Air Force One color scheme, there's little support for Trump's plan to transfer the new jet to his presidential library after his term ends in 2029. 18% of Americans strongly or somewhat support this, less than half the 51% who oppose it. Most Democrats oppose this plan (2% support and 82% oppose), while twice as many Republicans support than oppose it (41% vs. 21%). MAGA Republicans are far more likely to support it than oppose it (51% vs. 16%), but non-MAGA Republicans are closely divided (29% vs. 33%).

Image: Getty (Anna Moneymaker / Staff)

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