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The public may have more nuanced views on issues like tariffs and mass deportations than it might seem at first blush.
Dec. 6, 2024, 5:02 a.m. ET
President-elect Donald J. Trump and his allies have declared that his incoming administration has an “unprecedented” and “historic” mandate. While he won the popular vote by only a small margin, it’s true that voters shifted in his favor across the country and sent him back to the White House. But does that equate to a full-throated endorsement of his policy proposals?
Broadly speaking, polls show most Americans do want change in many of the areas where Mr. Trump has promised sweeping reform, including the economy and immigration. But when asked about specific policies and the effects on their daily lives, Americans, including many who voted for Mr. Trump, aren’t always as supportive and often have mixed opinions.
“You go down the line of all these policies and you find high levels of opposition, and it reflects that, for many Americans, they weren’t voting on specific policies,” said Prof. Tatishe Nteta, the director of the UMass Poll.
That’s not to say that polling suggests all of Mr. Trump’s plans are unpopular — but they aren’t all broadly popular, either. Instead, polling reveals that many Americans hold nuanced views on some of the issues Mr. Trump plans to tackle or are unsure how they feel about them.
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Voters consistently cited the economy as their top issue in polling this year, and more voters said they trusted Mr. Trump to deliver on that front than they did Vice President Kamala Harris.
