(CN) — Nearing the 100-day mark of Donald Trump’s second term in the White House, 40% of Americans polled by Pew Research Center say they approve of his job performance, a seven-point decline from February.
“Even as Trump continues to receive high marks from his strongest supporters, several of his key policy actions are viewed more negatively than positively by the public,” researchers wrote in the report published Wednesday.
Pew researchers polled 3,589 Americans in April, recruited through the center’s American Trends Panel.
More than half of the polled Americans, 59%, told researchers they disapprove of the Trump administration’s tariff hikes, along with 55% disapproving of federal firings and 51% disapproving his use of executive orders.
One point of unity among Democrats and Republicans is the desire for Trump to follow court orders, particularly if they come from the U.S. Supreme Court. While 19% of people polled said they think Trump is exempted from following federal court orders, 95% of Democrats and 82% of Republicans said he should adhere to rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Unsurprisingly, the perceived quality of Trump’s performance skews widely along party lines, with 75% of Republicans approving of his job so far and 93% of Democrats voicing disapproval.
Trump’s 100-day approval rating ranks far below that of every other president since 1981, except Trump himself. In 2017, Trump entered his first term with a 47% approval rating that likewise had dropped to 40% that April.
Barack Obama entered office with the highest approval rating since 1981, with the support of 64% of Americans polled.
Roughly 40% of people polled told Pew they either liked “everything,” or “nothing,” Trump did. Trump’s immigration policies received the highest amount of support, named by 20% of people as their favorite action. At the same time, immigration policies were ranked the least liked by 11% of people polled.
Describing Trump as “authoritarian,” and a “dictator,” nearly a quarter of people said they least liked “how Trump governs.” At the same time, 11% declared “how Trump governs” their favorite part of his presidency, saying he was “keeping promises,” and “getting things done.”
With Trump at the helm, Pew also tracked growing support of his party, with 43% of Americans reporting a favorable view of Republicans, up 8 points from 2023. This marks the first time in several years that the Republican party is seen more favorably than the Democratic Party, currently seen positively by just 38% of Americans.
“Though neither party receives majority-positive assessments from the public, views of the Republican Party have improved in recent years (43% today vs. 35% in December 2023), while ratings of the Democratic Party have held steady (38% today vs. 37% then),” researchers said in the report.
While perceptions of the U.S. Supreme Court tend to rise and fall sporadically, nearly equal shares of Americans approve and disapprove of the nation’s ultimate arbiters of justice. The 47% of Americans who told Pew they hold a favorable view of the U.S. Supreme Court reflects “near historic lows.”
Along partisan lines, however, 74% of Republicans currently report a favorable view of the high court, along with 30% of Democrats. Support among Democrats of the conservative-leaning court has dwindled since its 2022 Dobbs decision overturned abortion rights enshrined by Roe v. Wade.
With fears of the court becoming politicalized, Americans across party lines — 92% of Republicans and 93% of Democrats — say they value having impartial federal judges. Only 17% of Republicans and 14% of Democrats however are “extremely confident” in the impartiality of the federal bench.