60% of Americans Optimistic About Trump's Second Term

by Oh Suyon

Published 20 Jan.2025 13:55(KST)

Updated 20 Jan.2025 15:50(KST)

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52% Expect the Economy to Be "Good" in 2025

On the 20th (local time), ahead of the inauguration of Donald Trump as the President-elect of the United States, 60% of Americans expressed optimism about the next four years.

On that day, CBS News revealed this through the results of a poll it commissioned. The survey was conducted by CBS News through the polling firm YouGov, targeting 2,174 American adults (with a margin of error of ±2.5 percentage points) from the 15th to the 17th of this month.

President-elect Donald Trump of the United States. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

Looking at the proportion of respondents who answered optimistically by age group, 67% of those aged 18-29, 62% of those aged 30-44, 60% of those aged 45-64, and 51% of those aged 65 and older were optimistic. Generally, younger generations are more optimistic.

According to past polls conducted by CBS around the inauguration of new presidents, the optimistic outlook was 58% for President Joe Biden in 2021 and 56% for President-elect Trump’s first term in 2017.

CBS explained that the more optimistic outlook for Trump’s second term compared to the first is because Americans expect the economy in 2025 to be better than before. They believe that President-elect Trump will lower grocery prices, improve financial conditions, and bring world peace.

However, the optimism is not as high as it was for past presidents. In 2009, Barack Obama recorded 79%, George W. Bush in 2001 had 64%, Bill Clinton in 1993 had 70%, George H.W. Bush in 1989 had 68%, Ronald Reagan in 1981 had 69%, and Jimmy Carter in 1977 had 70%. CBS analyzed that increasing political polarization has reduced the likelihood of opposition party supporters expressing positive opinions.

When asked about the current economic situation, 38% said it was "good," while 56% said it was "bad." However, when asked about the economic outlook for 2025, 52% expected it to be "good," and 31% expected it to be "bad," showing a predominantly positive outlook.

Regarding the expectation that Trump’s second-term policies will lower grocery prices, 39% of all respondents and 74% of those who voted for Trump agreed. Among all respondents, 37% believed grocery prices would rise, but only 6% of Trump voters agreed. Those who thought there would be no change accounted for 24% of all respondents and 20% of Trump supporters.

When asked if respondents thought their financial situation would improve due to Trump’s policies, 42% of all respondents and 77% of Trump supporters said yes. Those who thought it would remain similar accounted for 30% of all respondents and 20% of Trump supporters. Respondents who expected deterioration were 28% overall and 3% among Trump supporters.

Regarding whether Trump’s policies would enhance world peace and stability, 46% of all respondents and 88% of Trump supporters answered positively. Those who thought it would weaken accounted for 37% overall and 4% of Trump supporters. Those who believed there would be no impact accounted for 16% overall and 8% of Trump supporters.

In a binary-choice question about Trump’s plan to purchase Greenland, only 39% of all voters supported it, but 68% of Trump supporters were in favor.

When asked about support for policies imposing additional tariffs on imports in a binary-choice format, only 46% of all voters supported it, while 82% of Trump supporters agreed.

In this poll, when asked about support for policies to deport all illegal immigrants in a binary-choice question, 55% of all respondents and 90% of Trump supporters were in favor. However, CBS pointed out that while most Americans support deporting illegal immigrants, they oppose the military being involved in the deportations.

Regarding birthright citizenship, 71% of all respondents and 51% of Trump supporters said the current system should be maintained.

Similar results appeared in other polls. According to a poll conducted by the American online media Axios together with the polling firm Ipsos from the 10th to the 12th of this month targeting 1,025 American adults, 66% agreed with policies for mass deportation of illegal immigrants. Support by party affiliation was 93% for Republicans, 67% for independents, and 43% for Democrats.

However, only 38% of all respondents agreed with the idea of deploying soldiers to identify and detain illegal immigrants, and only 28% agreed that military budgets should be used for deportation costs. Only 38% agreed with deporting illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children with their families, and 38% agreed with rapid deportation even if it meant separating families or sending them to countries other than their country of origin. Only 11% supported deporting legal immigrants as well as illegal ones.