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By Andrew Stanton
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A survey from conservative-leaning pollster Rasmussen Reports showed a plurality of Americans believing the country is on the right track for the first time in two decades this week.
Newsweek reached out to the White House.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump moved quickly to enact a sweeping conservative agenda in the early days of his second term. He has focused on cutting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, efforts to deport migrants living in the U.S. who entered the country illegally and major cuts to government agencies.
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Polls offer mixed signals about public opinion on these actions. Americans are generally skeptical of billionaire Elon Musk's influence on Trump, and don't agree with some of his policies.
Trump's high approval rating is fading, according to FiveThirtyEight's polling aggregate, which showed 49 percent of Americans approve of him, while 45.7 percent disapproved of him, on Friday.
What to Know
Rasmussen, which is generally viewed as having a conservative slant, released a poll showing that a plurality of Americans believe the country is on the right track. The pollster noted none of their polls in the past 20 years have seen a majority of respondents hold this belief.
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"For the first time in over 20 years of polling, Right Direction EXCEEDS Wrong Track today," Mark Mitchell, a Rasmussen pollster, wrote in a post to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The poll found 47 percent of Americans thought the country was on the right track compared to 46 percent that thought it was going in the wrong direction. This is within the poll's margin of error of 3 percentage points.
Other polls, however, have produced different results.
A poll from YouGov and The Economist, conducted among 1,595 adults from February 9 to February 11, showed just 35 percent of Americans believing the country is on the right track, compared to 52 percent who believed the country is headed in the wrong direction.
Meanwhile, a Marquette University poll showed 62 percent of Americans believing the country is on the wrong track, while 38 percent believe it's heading in the right direction. The poll surveyed 1,063 adults from January 27 to February 5.
What People Are Saying
CNN data analyst Harry Enten on Thursday: "Inflation crushed the Joe Biden presidency. It ate it alive. If Donald Trump is not careful, inflation will crush his presidency and eat it alive, because that is where Americans want him to be focused. They want him focused on fixing the inflation problem and bringing prices down."
Representative Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, on X: "100% *Trump's approval rating **In Russia."
Trump, in a video posted to the Rapid Response 47 X account: "I have high approval ratings because I'm using common sense."
What Happens Next
Trump is expected to continue announcing new policies over the coming weeks, and more polls will shed light on his popularity.
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