With just under a month in office, Mainers are largely split along party lines when it comes to gauging job performance of President Donald Trump and his agenda, according to a University of New Hampshire poll released on Wednesday.
Irrespective of partisanship, the percentage of Mainers who believe the country is headed in the right direction has drastically increased. Since late last year, respondents are 20 points more likely to say things today are improving and 14 point less likely to say they are headed in the wrong direction.
The survey results reflect a largely party-line split when it comes to President Trump’s handling of the presidency. Overall, 40 percent of Mainers approve of the president’s first month in office, with 98 percent of Republicans, 36 percent of Independents, and one percent of Democrats happy with Trump’s performance.
Among those who approved of Trump, the largest group, 36 percent, cited his efforts to reduce government spending as their primary reason. Trump’s holding true to his campaign promises is the second most cited reason, with 20 percent telling the pollsters this accounts for their positive appraisal so far.
The largest contingent of opponents, 26 percent, cited the “undermining democracy” as the primary reason for their disapproval, while another 16 percent cited Elon Musk and the activities of the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Interestingly, only one percent said the president’s handling of immigration was their primary reason for disapproving of his performance, and zero percent cited LGBTQ+ issues.
Overall support for the economy during Trump’s term so far rated 45 percent, higher than his overall approval and drawing more support, 41 percent, from independents.
UNH pollsters also measured support for some of the president’s individual actions.
Trump’s decision to release the documents relating to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. was his most popular policy among Mainers, garnering 62 percent overall support.
A substantial 54 percent of Mainers also approved of the decision to reinstate military service members discharged for their refusal to take the COVID vaccine, and half Mainers, 50 percent, supported the halt to foreign aid while 49 percent opposed it.
None of the president’s other actions received above 50 percent support.
Respondents were split on their views about DOGE: 47 percent majority opposed the new agency compared with 44 percent who supported it.
Just over half (52 percent) opposed withdrawal from the World Health Organization, and 54 percent said they are against the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, while 58 percent were opposed to ending birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants.
UNH conducted its poll between February 13 and 17, with 855 respondents.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="35677 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=35677">8 Comments
“ None of the President’s other actions received above 50% support “
Bingo ……the magic words every Maine democrat wants to hear . Let’s play RCV. !
It’s exactly WHY they love their Ranked Choice Voting Scam so much ….
They get to rig the numbers until they win .
Yeah, UNH is our go to for political updates. What a joke.
Not a believable survey for my section of Maine.
I participated in the survey and gave Trump high marks of support throughout. They likely targeted Leftie losers in southern Maine to offset the conservative responses.Typical!
Survey results depend upon how the questions are worded, upon whom you ask and how the results are tabulated. Is the U of NH actually an unbiased poll taker? I certainly would consider the U of Maine to be biased well to the left, likely U of NH is similarly inclined.
I personally want EVERY Gazan to get at least 5 condoms apiece. Trump and Elon are evil for stopping this.
how about next time you ask these questions, or any questions, Why don’t you inquire as to the respondents source of information, THAT, would be as telling (or more) as the stats you posted.
Because remember, WE the PUBLIC, only know what WE are being told or what we read. And WE know there are MANY filters in place between the actual facts and the consumer.
I have no trust in polling anymore! I know that I am very pleased with President Trumps first month in office. All career politicians and Democrats are against him because they all know he is going to expose all of their lies and corruption. Susan Collins and the millions her and her family have made while putting competition out of business in northern Maine. Her ties with Carl Soderbutg and their corrupt business dealings in Iraq. I only hope that Elon can get to the bottom of it all and expose all of their lies wasteful spending and corruption in our government. They are off to a good start!