Most Americans believe Trump is enriching himself through presidency, poll finds

Most Americans believe President Donald Trump is using the presidency to increase his personal wealth, according to US polling reported on October 18 and 19, 2026, as Democrats lead Republicans in voting preferences ahead of November’s midterm elections.¹²

Concern about personal benefit

The Guardian reported that 66% of Americans believed Trump was enriching himself through his office. ABC News’s account of the ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos survey showed that view extended across party lines, although the proportions differed: 94% of Democrats, 73% of independents and 27% of Republicans.¹²

The accounts differ on the Republican share, with the Guardian reporting 34%. Both nevertheless describe a majority nationally who believe the president is using his position for personal enrichment. These findings concern respondents’ perceptions of Trump’s conduct, rather than establishing that he has benefited financially.¹²

Other questions also drew negative assessments. According to ABC News, 80% considered Trump’s effort to have his name placed on the Kennedy Center inappropriate, while 74% objected to federal funding for television advertisements promoting him and his policies. The outlet reported that 68% believed he was not committed to respecting congressional authority.²

Economic dissatisfaction

ABC News reported that 75% assessed the national economy negatively, including 35% who described it as poor. Its account also found 72% thought the country was moving in the wrong direction, against 26% who thought it was moving in the right direction.²

According to the Guardian, 48% said their finances had deteriorated since Trump returned to office in January 2025. The newspaper also reported that respondents preferred Democrats to Republicans on economic management by 37% to 28%. Trump had promised a “new golden age” for the economy when he returned, the Guardian said.¹

Congressional preferences

The ABC News account put Democratic congressional candidates ahead of Republicans by 52% to 44% among likely voters and 50% to 42% among registered voters. Among independent likely voters, Democratic candidates led by 56% to 35%. It also reported that 72% of Democratic voters were absolutely certain to vote, compared with 65% of Republican voters.²

Trump’s approval stood at 33%, with 66% disapproving, according to ABC News. A separate Reuters/Ipsos survey, reported by the Straits Times on October 19, put approval at 31%, which that report described as the lowest across either of his presidential terms.²³

Two separate surveys

Ipsos’s October 20 methodology release described a random sample of 2,545 US adults for the ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, with interviews in English and Spanish using KnowledgePanel. It said the three organisations jointly funded and sponsored the survey.⁴

The separate Reuters/Ipsos poll surveyed 1,679 adults online over four days ending October 19, according to the Straits Times. That report gave margins of error of two percentage points for all adults and three points for its 1,279 registered voters.³