An Elon University Poll surveyed 1,000 American adults and found a drop in President Donald Trump’s approval rating.
The survey, conducted April 10 to 17, found 41% of respondents approve of Trump’s job performance, while 47% disapprove. This contrasts with the February 2025 Elon University Poll, which showed a 45% approval and 41% disapproval rating.
These numbers show public concern about the balance of power between the executive branch and the courts, with 67% of Americans worried about a potential constitutional crisis due to conflicts between these branches.
The largest group of respondents said the balance of power has tipped toward the executive branch.
According to the poll, Republicans believe that the powers of the three branches of government are balanced. Specifically, 67% think the executive branch has the right amount of power, 58% feel the legislative branch has the right amount of power and 52% believe the judiciary has the right amount of power.
Seventy-nine percent of Democrats believe the executive branch holds too much power, whereas only 25% think the judiciary has too much power. Just 17% of Democrats feel the legislative branch is overly powerful.
The perception of an imbalance of power is highlighted by concerns about a potential constitutional crisis. A significant majority — 67% — are very or somewhat worried that the executive branch and the courts might reach a stalemate, leading to a crisis over who has the final authority on an issue. Among Democrats, 88% are concerned about a constitutional crisis compared with 61% of Independents and 51% of Republicans.
Director of the Elon University Poll Jason Husser said outreach for this poll was online and sent to people who are interested in taking polls. Husser said no matter how large the audience for the poll, similar results would still shine through. The political demographics from this poll, Husser said, align with national demographics showing that there are slightly more Democrats than Republicans. Husser said he did not find the results very surprising.
“I don't know that I would necessarily call things surprising, but I did find a number of things that were really interesting,” Husser said.
As for Trump’s declining approval rate, Husser said this has been an up and down scale for the past few elections.
“What we're finding in our most recent poll is a downturn in Trump's approval,” Husser said. “He didn't need a honeymoon period in 2016 and didn't have one in 2024 either in the way that presidents have historically had.”
Husser explained that the numbers within this poll suggest that Trump’s hard push on some issues do not have broad support, even among the Republican Party.
This Elon Poll found that Americans were split on the question of whether they have confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court. Seventy-two percent of Republicans expressed some confidence in the Supreme Court. This compares with the only 35% of Democrats and 39% of Independents who showed some measure of confidence in the Supreme Court. Despite confidence in the Supreme Court, the majority of people think the Court leans more conservatively.
“We found several other things where even Trump supporters largely still think that courts should be followed,” Husser said. “The rule of law still matters, even if they think that the courts may have gone too far.”