President Donald Trump ‘s second term began with efforts to deliver on key campaign promises, including his vows to crack down on immigration and restore “ energy dominance.”
In his first Oval Office appearance in his second term, he issued sweeping pardons for people charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol and declared a “national emergency” at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Some of these early moves are likely to be popular with the public. Most Americans think increasing security at the U.S.-Mexico border should be at least “a moderate priority” for the federal government, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, and about half think it should be a high priority.
But some of his other pledges — pulling out of the Paris climate agreement, increasing oil drilling on federal lands and ending birthright citizenship — are less widely favored. The poll found that pardoning most people who participated in 2021 riot is particularly unpopular.
Here’s what Americans think about some of the major actions that Trump has promised.
US adults are split on mass deportations, but most support deporting immigrants convicted of violent crime
Executive orders previewed Monday by an incoming White House official are intended to end asylum access, send troops to the U.S.-Mexico border and end birthright citizenship.
The January poll found that targeted deportations of immigrants who have been convicted of a crime would be popular, even if they involved immigrants who are in the country legally, but that support doesn’t extend to mass deportations.
About 8 in 10 U.S. adults favor deporting all immigrants living in the U.S. illegally who have been convicted of a violent crime – including about two-thirds who are strongly in favor – and about 7 in 10 support deporting all immigrants living in the U.S. legally who have been convicted of a violent crime.
Deporting immigrants who are in the country illegally and have not been convicted of a crime is a much more divisive proposal. US adults are slightly more likely to oppose this policy than to favor it, and only about 4 in 10 are in support.
More oppose than favor changes to birthright citizenship
Ending birthright citizenship would be legally challenging for Trump, and it’s also not popular. Relatively few Americans – about 3 in 10 – favor changing the Constitution so that children born in the U.S. are not automatically granted citizenship if their parents are in the country illegally, according to a January AP-NORC poll.
There’s a big partisan divide, with about half of Republicans supporting an end to birthright citizenship compared to about 1 in 10 Democrats.
Only about 2 in 10 support pardoning most Jan. 6 participants
Trump said he was pardoning about 1,500 defendants and commuting six sentences.
About 2 in 10 U.S. adults favor pardoning most people who participated in the attack, according to the AP-NORC poll. A larger share — about 6 in 10 — oppose it, including half who are strongly opposed.
Republicans are divided on the the issue. About 4 in 10 Republicans favor pardoning many of the Jan. 6 participants, while about 3 in 10 are opposed.
About half oppose withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement
The new White House announced almost immediately that the U.S. will again withdraw from the Paris climate agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
About half of Americans “somewhat” or “strongly” oppose that action, and even Republicans aren’t overwhelmingly in favor, according to the poll. Only about 2 in 10 US adults “somewhat” or “strongly” in favor of withdrawing from the Paris agreement, while about one-quarter are neutral.
Much of the opposition comes from Democrats, but Republicans display some ambivalence as well. Slightly less than half of Republicans are in favor, while about 2 in 10 are opposed.
Republicans want federal workers back in the office
One of Trump’s first executive orders mandated that federal employees return to the office five days a week. Such a requirement is more popular than some of Trump’s other government efficiency proposals, such as like eliminating a large number of federal jobs or getting rid of entire agencies, the poll finds.
Republicans lawmakers have pushing for more in-office days for federal workers, and rank-and-file Republicans are also more likely than Americans overall to support a five-day week in the office. Adults over 45 are also more likely than younger adults to want a full return to office for federal employees.
Reversing an unpopular push for electric vehicles
Trump has promised to end Biden administration policies that encourage Americans to buy electric vehicles.
Those endeavors largely weren’t popular: About 6 in 10 U.S. adults in a Pew Research Center poll from last year opposed rules that would make EVs at least half of all new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. by 2032. That opposition was especially high among Republicans; about 8 in 10 disliked the rule.
And EV purchases didn’t get much uptake. An AP-NORC/EPIC poll from last summer indicated that many Americans aren’t sold on going electric for their next car. High prices and a lack of easy-to-find charging stations were among the major sticking points.
Trump’s approach to energy production isn’t supported by most US adults
Trump is expected to sign orders designed to reduce regulatory requirements for oil and natural gas production. He has promised to establish American “energy dominance” in part by boosting oil and gas drilling, including on federal lands.
U.S. adults aren’t so sure about it. An AP-NORC poll found that about one-third of Americans “somewhat” or “strongly” favor increasing oil drilling on federal lands, while about 4 in 10 are opposed. Increasing oil drilling is broadly popular with Republicans but not with Democrats or independents.
According to AP VoteCast, only about 4 in 10 voters in the 2024 presidential election said U.S. energy policy should focus on expanding production of fossil fuels, such as oil and gas. Most — 55% — said it was better to focus on expanding use of alternative energy, such as solar and wind.
