CNBC Survey: Majority of Americans Are Ready to Support Trump and Large Parts of His Agenda

Americans say they are ready to support President-elect Donald Trump in his second term and majorities give a green light to some of his controversial promises on the campaign trial. Yet the CNBC All-America Economic Survey also finds the public is flashing yellow and red warning lights on some parts of the Trump agenda.

Overall, the survey finds that 54% of the public are “comfortable and prepared to support” Trump as president. That’s down two points from when he took office in 2016. Some 41% are not comfortable, up five points from 2016. So, despite having won the popular vote in this election compared to 2016, Trump takes office for the second time with somewhat less net support in the poll.

“In 2016, there were a few more people, who said, ‘I’m not sure,’ and took a kind of a wait-and-see approach,” said Jay Campbell, partner at Hart Research, the Democratic pollster for the survey. “Those numbers have dropped by half or more … People know what to expect with Donald Trump now.”

The survey of 1,000 people nationwide was taken Dec. 5-8. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

The survey finds 60% say deploying the military to the border to stop illegal drugs and human trafficking should be a 2025 priority for the new administration with an additional 13% saying it should still be done but later in the term. The proposal is only opposed outright by 24%, including 51% of Democrats, 12% of independents and 3% of Republicans. Majorities of Americans also support cutting individual taxes, increasing deportation of undocumented immigrants, reducing the size of government, drilling for more oil on federal lands and cutting taxes and regulation for business.

Where the potential agenda gets more contentious is most obviously in President-elect Trump’s plans to pardon those convicted of crimes from the Jan. 6 protest. Just 43% support the move, with 50% opposing it, including 87% of Democrats, 46% of independents and 18% of Republicans. It’s the issue with the single largest Republican opposition. Support for tariffs is also more lukewarm with 27% backing them outright and 24% saying it can be done later in the term. It’s opposed by 42% of respondents.

Americans overall are more upbeat about the economic outlook for the second Trump presidency than they were the first. More than half, or 51%, say they expect their personal financial situation to improve, 10 points higher than when he was elected in 2016; the same percentage, 51%, also say they expect the U.S. economy to improve, up 5 points from 2016.

There were also gains in the percentage believing they’d be worse off, suggesting Trump is even more polarizing now than he was in his first term.

President Biden, meanwhile, leaves office with Americans fairly downbeat on the economy. Just 25% believe the economy is excellent or good and 73% say it’s fair or poor. Biden’s final economic approval rating comes in at 36%, with 58% disapproving. His -22 net positive rating is improved from his worst numbers in 2022  but are still deeply negative and a long way from the +5 when his term began.

But Americans are considerably more hopeful on the economic outlook, charged by Republican enthusiasm in the wake of the election. Forty-six percent of the public expect the economy to improve in the next year, up nine points from October, and driven by a switch of Republicans (and, to a lesser extent, independents) from pessimistic to optimistic. At the same time, 33% say the economy will get worse, up 16 points and driven entirely by deeper downbeat views of Democrats.

 “Trump’s walking into his second term with more sour moods about the current economy, but more hopeful attitudes about what’s to come,” said Micah Roberts, partner at Public Opinion Strategies, the Republican pollster for the survey.

Forty percent of the public say now is a good time to invest in stocks, with 27% saying it’s a bad time, the most positive Americans have been on stocks since 2019. It was a massive swing from last quarter and the past 3 1/2 years when Americans have been neutral to deeply negative on stocks. It was driven by a complete about face by Republicans on the stock market in the wake of the election. They are now 56 points more positive on whether this is a good time to invest in stocks compared to August.

Separately, the survey also found that while cryptocurrencies may be the hottest thing on Wall Street, that’s not true on Main Street, at least not yet. The survey shows just 13%  of the public owning crypto and 15% saying it’s the best investment right now. That’s up 4 points since we last asked the question in 2022, but it trails well behind real estate, stocks, gold and even savings accounts in best-investment contest. Just 7% of the public say they would accept their wages in crypto, but another 22% said they might someday. Slightly more than three in five, or more than 61%, will never accept their wages in crypto.

One-third of crypto owners are in the youngest cohort, aged 18 to 34. Just 9% are 65 and older.