Trump is Going Too Far In Amassing His Power, Most Voters in Poll Say

Faith in president dips, even on economy and immigration, his top issues.

Author

Matt Davis
April 26, 2025

Morning! I’m off to play squash in 24 minutes’ time so let’s see what kind of slapdash reading of the newspaper I can dash off before then, shall we?

Nice to see Pete Hegseth looking all badly-tailored there on the front page, isn’t it?

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Today’s front page story is based on a Times poll of 913 voters, so take it with a pinch of salt. It has a bar chart, and everything.

Voters believe President Trump is overreaching with his aggressive efforts to expand executive power, and they have deep doubts about some of the signature pieces of his agenda, the story reports.

Voters do not view him as understanding the problems in their daily lives and have soured on his leadership as he approaches his 100th day in office. Mr. Trump’s approval rating sits at 42 percent. Only 43 percent said they approved of how he has managed the economy this term, a serious erosion on an issue long seen as a strength.

The president’s pursuit of widespread tariffs — which has caused stock-market drops and gyrations — was opposed by 55 percent of voters, including 63 percent of independents.

Taken together, the survey’s findings show that any second-term honeymoon for Mr. Trump is over. His approval rating among crucial independent voters is now at a woeful 29 percent.

Woeful. They used an adjective. They chose “woeful.” I would say “disastrous” or “catastrophic” or “deranged” but it doesn’t really matter because the Times chose “woeful” and so that’s what we’ll go with.

Voters said he had “gone too far” on issue after issue — his tariffs, his immigration enforcement, his cuts to the federal work force. Broad numbers of independent voters sided with Democrats in believing that he had overreached.

Overall, a 54 percent majority said that Mr. Trump was “exceeding the powers available to him,” including 16 percent of Republicans and 62 percent of independent voters.

They found a cattle rancher in Missouri who voted for Mr. Trump but thinks he might be “pushing the envelope” with some of his executive orders. He’s “constitutional enough to be a little bit concerned.” And here’s a chart showing what an utterly sh*t job Trump is doing.

That Russia one, though, eh? That’s a doozy. And 44 percent of voters — including a meager 31 percent of independents — said that he “understands the problems facing people like you.”

The best statistics from the poll, though, are the ones showing how everyone thinks he’s overreaching.

61 percent of voters, including 33 percent of Republicans, said a president should not be able to impose tariffs without authorization from Congress.

54 percent, including 26 percent of Republicans, said a president should not be able to eliminate programs enacted by Congress.

63 percent, including 40 percent of Republicans, said a president should not be able to deport legal immigrants who have protested Israel.

73 percent of voters, including 56 percent of Republicans, said a president should not be able to send American citizens to prison in El Salvador, as Mr. Trump has threatened to do.

And as Mr. Trump’s administration has veered toward open defiance of court orders, a sky-high 76 percent of voters, and 61 percent of Republicans, said a president should not be able to ignore the Supreme Court.

Also, who knew, but Elon Musk is a Nazi!

Voters are clearly unhappy with the role played by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a senior White House adviser. With mixed success, he has overseen drastic cuts to federal agencies through the so-called Department of Government Efficiency and battled with cabinet secretaries over the scope of his authority.

Just 35 percent of voters viewed Mr. Musk favorably. And perhaps even more revealingly, attaching his name to his actions made them even less popular. The Times asked two questions about cuts by DOGE, and the spending reductions were more popular when Mr. Musk’s name was not included.

Midterms in 2026, guys. Presidential election in 2028. You hold onto those feelings, yeah?

Thanks for letting me read the newspaper — however hurriedly, on the weekend — so that you don’t have to. Have a great and restful day!

Say, is there a story on the front page that might cheer me up a bit?

Oh, sure. Read 👇🏻 this article about a hotel in Hong Kong where Bruce Lee once stayed.

Where Bruce Lee Practiced on the Roof, a Shrine to Old Hong Kong Rises

At a formerly grand hotel where the famed martial arts star once stayed, a group of collectors is trying to preserve vestiges of the city’s past as its political identity changes.

Matt Davis lives in Manhattan with his wife and kid.

Standard disclaimer: I read the top story in the New York Times every morning so that you don’t have to. If you were forwarded this, you can subscribe here. I’m also doing a five-minute video version of this, each weekday morning at around 9 a.m. (depending on how long it takes me to read the newspaper). If you’d like to follow me on LinkedIn (you can always watch the recording later). If you subscribe to my Youtube channel it’ll also send you a notification when I’m “going live.”