Americans are giving a big thumbs up to some of the early actions taken by President Donald Trump during the opening weeks of his second administration.
However, a new national poll also indicates that the public also gives a thumbs down to other moves made by Trump during his avalanche of action since returning to the White House on Jan. 20.
Trump has signed 63 executive orders since his inauguration, according to a count from Fox News, which far surpasses the rate of any presidential predecessors during their first weeks in office.
According to a Marquette Law School Poll national survey released on Wednesday, the most popular action sampled is Trump’s executive order mandating the federal government recognize only two sexes – male and female.
Sixty-three percent of adults nationwide supported the move, with just 37% opposed, the survey indicates.
The gender order, signed by Trump hours after his inauguration, states that it will ‘defend women’s rights and protect freedom of conscience by using clear and accurate language and policies that recognize women are biologically female, and men are biologically male.’
The order required that the federal government, going forward, use the term ‘sex’ rather than ‘gender’ and mandated that ‘government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder’s sex.’
It reversed a 2022 move by former President Joe Biden’s administration to allow U.S. citizens to be able to select the gender-neutral ‘X’ on their passports.
During his successful 2024 campaign to win back the White House, Trump repeatedly pledged to roll back protections for transgender and nonbinary people. His campaign spotlighted an ad which ran in key battleground states that claimed former Vice President Kamala Harris ‘is for they/them. President Trump is for you.’
The poll indicates a large partisan divide, with 94% of Republicans and two-thirds of independents but just 27% of Democrats supporting the executive order.
Another popular move, according to the poll: 6 in 10 said they favor expanding oil and gas production.
Some of Trump’s numerous actions on immigration and border security also grabbed a thumbs up.
Sixty percent said they support deporting immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally, and 59% favored declaring a national emergency at the nation’s southern border with Mexico due to migrant crossings.
However, the survey also found that 57% opposed deporting immigrants who have resided in the United States illegally for a number of years, but who have jobs and no criminal record.
Also getting a big thumbs down – Trump’s Day One pardon or commuting the sentences of nearly all the Trump supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 to upend congressional certification of Biden’s 2020 Electoral College victory over Trump. Sixty-five percent opposed the move by the president.
An equal number of respondents also do not support Trump’s repeated declarations that the U.S. will take back the Panama Canal.
Additionally, Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America is opposed by 71% of adults nationwide, according to the poll.
Fifty-seven percent of Republicans support the renaming, but backing drops to just 16% among independents and 4% among Democrats.
The Marquette Law School Poll, which was conducted Jan. 27-Feb. 5, indicates Trump starts his second term with a 48% approval rating and a 52% disapproval rating.
‘In the new poll, as in the past, approval is closely related to partisanship, with 89% of Republicans approving of Trump, a view shared by 37% of independents and 9% of Democrats,’ the poll’s release noted, as it spotlighted the massive partisan divide.
Fox News’ Mary Schlageter contributed to this report
