A survey from a conservative-leaning pollster has shown the number of Americans who think the United States is going in the wrong direction has marginally increased in recent weeks.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Polling about the state of the country is a good indicator of President Donald Trump’s political strength and the extent to which he commands the support of voters.
While his presidency is in its infancy, shaping a positive narrative about the U.S.’s future will prove crucial when America heads into the midterm election cycle in 2026.
What To Know
According to a Rasmussen Reports poll of 1,965 U.S. likely voters, 50 percent think the country is on the wrong track. The survey, conducted from March 16 to March 20, has a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points.
When Rasmussen last conducted polling, from March 9 to March 13, 48 percent of people said the country was heading in the wrong direction, 2 percent less than in the latest poll. However, this 2-percentage-point decline is within the poll’s margin of error.
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
The poll also found that 45 percent said the U.S. is heading in the right direction. This is the same proportion of people as in the previous survey.
Meanwhile, on February 14, 2025, Rasmussen found that most Americans, for the first time in 20 years of polling, believed the country was on the right track.
Recent polls have suggested that dissatisfaction with Trump’s handling of the economy is a key factor in his declining popularity. The latest poll conducted by NBC News found that more than half (54 percent) said they disapprove of how Trump is handling the economy, compared to 44 percent who approve.
What People Are Saying
Mark Shanahan, an expert in American politics at the University of Surrey, told Newsweek: “This is one poll, very early in the new administration’s term, but it will give the Trump White House some pause for thought.”
He added that Trump’s foreign and economic policies were not delivering.
“The problem for Trump is that the reality isn’t exactly living up to the hype. Peace in Ukraine and the Middle East is proving to be far harder to achieve than the real estate deals envisaged by the president, while the bludgeon of tariffs is raising ever more opposition among erstwhile allies. The promised domestic boom seems as far over the horizon as ever, and the suspicion among an increasing number of Republicans is that 47’s delivery may fall far short of his promises.”
What Happens Next
As Trump’s presidency continues, more polls will reveal his fluctuating popularity.
