The president-elect has been busy filling out his cabinet picks. But something else gripped his attention.
And now Trump received a surprise test result that could change everything for him.
A new poll shows a strong majority of American voters now approve of President-elect Donald Trump’s job performance just two weeks after his historic return to the White House.
This marks a stunning comeback for the Republican leader, whose political resurgence has been hailed as one of the greatest in American history.
The Harvard Center for American Political Studies (CAPS)/Harris poll of registered voters found that 54% approve of Trump, compared to 40% who disapprove. Six percent remain undecided.
This represents a remarkable turnaround from January 2021, when Trump’s approval rating was a record-low 34% as he left office following his first term.
🚨 NEW approval poll of President-elect Donald Trump
🔴 Approve: 54% (+14)
🔵 Disapprove: 40%Harvard-Harris pic.twitter.com/8gauIwGAgs
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 20, 2024
The poll also highlights Trump’s broadening appeal across key voter demographics. According to The Hill, Trump enjoys approval from 91% of Republicans, nearly half (49%) of independents, and an eye-opening 22% of Democrats — this despite relentless negative coverage of his Cabinet picks by corporate media outlets.
“Almost three-quarters of Democrats and about 40 percent of independents said they disapprove of the president-elect,” The Hill noted. Even so, the polling signals notable inroads into traditionally Democratic voter bases.
The survey reveals a dramatic realignment in voter preferences by age. While seniors remain the only group where disapproval outweighs approval, majorities of Americans aged 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, and 45-54 support Trump. A plurality of those aged 55-64 also approve.
As The Hill points out, this trend challenges the longstanding assumption that younger voters overwhelmingly lean Democratic. In fact, exit polls from the 2024 presidential election showed younger voters shifting significantly toward Trump.
For example, while Kamala Harris narrowly won voters aged 18-29 in 2024, she only did so by 11 points — a steep decline from the 24-point margin the Democratic ticket won in 2020. This represents a 13-point swing to the right among young voters in just four years.
Much of the narrative around Trump’s resurgence has focused on young men moving toward his camp, but the president-elect has also made notable gains among young women. Despite Harris focusing heavily on abortion rights and other issues targeted at female voters, Trump cut into the Democratic advantage with women under 30.
In 2020, the Biden-Harris ticket won this demographic by 35 points. This year, Harris carried them by a reduced margin of 24 points.
Meanwhile, young men under 30 flipped entirely. Trump, who lost this group by 11 points in 2020, narrowly won them by two points in 2024 — a dramatic shift that highlights the growing appeal of his policies among the next generation of voters.
While younger voters are moving toward the GOP, seniors are trending in the opposite direction.
Trump, who won senior voters by five points in 2020, tied with Harris in 2024. This underscores how both parties are vying to solidify support among the nation’s most consistent voting bloc.
As Trump prepares to take office again, the numbers reflect a seismic shift in voter sentiment, with fresh coalitions emerging to support his vision for America.
His growing approval among traditionally Democratic demographics indicates that the electorate is embracing his policies over the failures of the outgoing administration.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
