Trump gets high approval ratings for his first weeks, new CBS poll finds

President Donald Trump received one of his highest job approval ratings in his decade-long political career, after he kicked off his second term with a flurry of executive actions.

A new CBS News/YouGov poll found that 53% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s overall job in office so far.

Most respondents said they would describe the 78-year-old Trump as “effective,” “focused,” “tough,” “competent” and “energetic” — though just 37% said they viewed him as “compassionate.”

A large majority — 70% — said they believe Trump is doing what he promised during the 2024 campaign.

The poll released Sunday was based on a survey of 2,175 respondents conducted between last Wednesday and Friday. It carries a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.5 percentage points.

The CBS poll gives Trump higher overall marks than other recent surveys have, including ones conducted by Gallup and Pew. But all of the results generally show Trump starting his second term with more support than when he took office for the first time in 2017.

Trump’s positive overall numbers came even as he scored less-than-stellar marks on issues that were key to his victory in the presidential race, such as trade and inflation.

For instance, 51% of respondents told CBS that they think Trump’s policies will make food and grocery prices go up, versus 28% who believe his policies will lower prices, and another 20% who said they won’t change anything.

Two thirds of respondents said the Trump administration is not focusing enough on lowering the prices of goods and services.

And 73% said they think new U.S. tariffs on imported goods will generally make things more expensive for them, while just 8% believe tariffs would lower prices.

Most also said they were not convinced that tariffs will create U.S. jobs, as Trump has claimed: 32% told CBS they would, while 34% said they would cost domestic jobs and another 34% foresaw no change.

Trump has already slapped across-the-board tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, though he paused the import duties on Canada and Mexico from taking effect until early March. Majorities in the CBS poll opposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico and Europe, but 56% said they supported new tariffs on China.

A majority, 58%, also said they opposed Trump’s decision to issue pardons to the vast majority of people charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

But there were other bright spots for Trump in the poll, including on the key issue of immigration.

His initial efforts to deport undocumented immigrants en masse have garnered 59% approval, and his plan to send U.S. troops to the southern border to stop illegal crossings received 64% support, per CBS.

Trump’s handling of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, meanwhile, drew the approval of 54% of respondents, though Democrats and liberals overwhelmingly opposed it.

Respondents were mixed on how much power and influence should be wielded by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, the Elon Musk-led task force aiming to slash the federal bureaucracy.

But a plurality said the Trump administration is putting the right amount of focus on cutting government spending and U.S. foreign aid, as well as on ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs.