WASHINGTON (AP) — Concerns over everyday expenses played a role in propelling President-elect Donald Trump back to the White House. However, as his second term approaches, many American adults doubt his capability to reduce costs. A survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research reveals that only about 2 in 10 Americans express high confidence in Trump’s ability to address the costs of groceries, housing, or healthcare this year. Faith in his capacity to create jobs is slightly higher, with approximately 3 in 10 expressing confidence in his prospects for progress in 2025. Despite his pledges to lower prices, a significant portion of his own supporters lack strong confidence in his ability to swiftly relieve economic burdens.
While expectations are tempered, Republicans remain optimistic about Trump’s upcoming term, with about 8 in 10 viewing him favorably. On the other hand, Democrats are less negative compared to his first term, with around 8 in 10 expressing skepticism about his second term.
The 2024 presidential campaign was largely centered on economic issues, including debates on inflation and Trump’s supposed ability to address them. However, as Trump assumes office, a substantial portion of Americans, including some of his own supporters, do not foresee an immediate reduction in costs. Confidence in Trump’s economic management is also relatively low, with only about one-third of Americans highly confident in his abilities. Republicans tend to have more faith in Trump’s handling of the economy compared to Democrats.
Expectations are also not high in other policy areas, such as immigration, national security, and healthcare. Americans are particularly doubtful about Trump’s capacity to address healthcare costs and the overall healthcare issue.
A recent survey has shed light on Americans’ confidence in President Trump’s ability to address health care issues. The findings reveal that only about 2 in 10 Americans are extremely or very confident in his capability to tackle health care challenges. Additionally, 16% of respondents express confidence in his ability to make progress in lowering health care costs.
Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump had expressed intentions to explore alternatives to the Affordable Care Act. However, he has yet to present a concrete plan outlining potential changes to the existing health care law. Despite dedicating considerable effort during his first term to dismantling the Affordable Care Act, these endeavors ultimately proved unsuccessful.
The survey further indicates that approximately half of Republicans exhibit high levels of confidence in Trump’s capacity to manage health care matters. Around one-third of Republicans are at least very confident that he will succeed in reducing health care expenses.
Looking ahead to a potential second term, about half of Republicans anticipate significant accomplishments from Trump. His favorability rating has remained consistent despite facing significant challenges such as four indictments, a criminal conviction, and two attempted assassinations. The survey data suggests that Americans’ expectations for Trump’s second term are aligned with their assessment of his initial four years in office.
Slightly fewer than half of U.S. adults anticipate that Trump will perform poorly or terribly in his second term, reflecting a sentiment that has remained steady since his departure from the White House in 2021. In contrast, Republicans appear more optimistic about the prospect of Trump’s second term, with approximately half believing he will excel as president. This marks an increase from the end of his first term, where approximately 4 in 10 Republicans regarded him as a great president.
Conversely, Democrats remain largely pessimistic about Trump’s potential second term, with the majority still expecting him to perform poorly. However, there has been a slight decrease in concern among Democrats, with about 6 in 10 believing Trump will be a terrible president in his second term, down from three-quarters at the conclusion of his first term.
The findings are based on a survey conducted by AP-NORC, which polled 1,147 adults between January 9-13. The survey utilized a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, designed to represent the U.S. population accurately. The margin of sampling error for the overall adult population is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
