Donald Trump won the election in part because voters supported his broad goals, albeit not his specific policies. As I argued here a few weeks ago, the worm is turning on the president. That’s partly because Americans believe he’s gone too far.
Voters preferred a president who would be “tougher” on immigration. However, as previously reported, they rejected Trump’s proposal to deport everyone who is here illegally.
The courts have now intervened in some immigration cases, and while many voters are concerned about the border, the majority are unwilling to give Trump complete control of the issue.
As courts enjoined some of the president’s actions, a Yahoo/YouGov poll found that only 32 percent thought it was appropriate for Trump to ignore a judge’s order to turn around planes carrying expelled immigrants so the court could review the case. Fifty-four percent said Trump went too far, and it was wrong for him not to follow the judge’s order.
An Ipsos poll found similar results, with 56 percent saying the Trump administration should halt deportations until the courts allow it.
Trump then went even further, calling the judge in question a “lunatic” and demanding his impeachment. Only 26% agreed with Trump that the judge deserved impeachment, while 55% thought Trump went too far and the judge should not be impeached.
This case, of course, is part of a larger debate about the President’s (executive) authority in comparison to the judicial branch. Only 14 percent of Ipsos respondents said presidents should not obey court orders if they don’t want to.
Eighty-two percent, including 68 percent of Republicans, believe the president should obey court orders. Most Americans believe that ignoring court orders goes too far.
Overall, voters believe Trump has gone “beyond his authority as president,” rather than acting within his authority, by 57 percent to 40 percent. Almost two-thirds of independents (62 percent) believe that the president has exceeded his authority.
According to Fox News, 68 percent are concerned that “Trump’s use of executive orders and acting without Congressional approval may be permanently altering our country’s system of checks and balances.”
As I’ve previously discussed, voters favor reducing government spending in general (but oppose cuts in almost every specific category). A recent Fox News poll found that 57 percent believe at least some federal spending is wasteful and inefficient.
Indeed, the majority support the creation of a federal agency dedicated to cutting spending.
However, the public dislikes the Department of Government Efficiency. It has gone too far.
Americans disapprove of DOGE’s spending cuts by 11 percentage points. Two-thirds are at least very concerned “that not enough thought and planning has gone into the government spending cuts.”
A Quinnipiac poll found that Americans believed DOGE was harming rather than benefiting the country by a 14-point margin. To take one example, 60 percent of voters oppose Trump’s plan to close the Department of Education, while 33 percent support it.
Voters wanted Trump to fix an economy that they believed was not working for them. However, the public believes he is going about it in the wrong way.
Tariffs are Trump’s solution. However, 55% of Americans told CBS News pollsters that the president is focusing “too much” on tariffs. An even larger 72 percent believe tariffs will raise prices, whereas voters are more concerned with how to keep living costs low.
Analysts repeatedly claim that Trump won because of immigration, the economy, and the deficit. The president is working in all of these areas, but he has gone too far. Trump’s extremism, narcissism, and disregard for democratic norms are alienating Americans and squandering the support he once had.
Mellman is the president of The Mellman Group, a political consultancy. Mellman worked as a pollster for Senate Democratic leaders for more than 20 years. He is also the president of the Democratic Majority of Israel.
