President Donald Trump is nearing the five-month mark of his second term — a term marked so far by a frenetic pace of executive orders and action on issues related to culture as well as immigration and foreign policy.
A major focus of the president more recently is pushing his “big, beautiful bill” over the finish line in the Senate after it passed the House late last month. He also publicly enthusiastically embraced then fell out with his former close friend and adviser Elon Musk, who is opposed to the bill and left his position in the administration recently in a fiery spat.
Trump is also trying to decide how much to involve the United States in Israel’s effort to try to eliminate Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Trump has insisted that his tariff agenda will work in Americans’ favor and celebrated immigration enforcement that has ramped up across the country.
Also in recent days, Trump has engaged in a battle with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, after he deployed several thousand National Guard troops to protect federal workers and property in response to ongoing protests of his immigration practices in Los Angeles.
The deployment has escalated tensions between political parties, with Republicans largely backing Trump’s use of military force and most Democrats criticizing him for overriding state power.
Voters have responded to all of these changes and others, riding a bit of a roller coaster since Trump’s inauguration in January.
In the latest poll from the Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics conducted by HarrisX, Utahns were asked whether they approve or disapprove of Trump’s job performance.
A reliably red state, Utah voters generally approve of Trump’s job performance, while a sizable minority still disapproves of his action. Among those surveyed, a majority, 56%, approve of Trump’s job as president, which is up from 54% in an April survey.
In the latest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll, voters were also asked by HarrisX how well they think Trump is handling key issues.
Trump is still strong with Republicans
Trump still remains popular with Republicans in Utah. Nearly 80% of Utah Republicans approve of the job he’s doing as commander in chief, with 47% of them who say they “strongly approve” of his performance.
The president performs best with white Utahns, males and with Utahns who are 35-49, the survey found.
Jason Perry, the director of the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics, said Utah’s Republican base is still “firmly behind President Trump.”
Among the 42% of Utahns who don’t approve of Trump’s presidency so far, the largest share are Democrats. Among Democratic voters, 84% disapprove of his job performance so far, while 58% of independent voters in Utah also disapprove of Trump’s leadership.
Perry noted that the share of independent voters in the state who disapprove of Trump’s job as president is interesting.
“That is a group that will need to be watched, that is a group that can impact a race,” he told the Deseret News.
Trump’s performance on the issues
Utahns largely approve of most of Trump’s actions on various issues, but the issue they most supported was the president’s immigration-related actions.
According to the survey, 61% approve of Trump’s handling of immigration, while 35% disapprove. Republicans in the state overwhelmingly support Trump on immigration, while just 21% of Democrats approve. Independents were fairly split down the middle on Trump’s immigration policy.
Utahns also strongly approved of Trump’s efforts to reduce the cost of government, with 59% job approval compared to 34% who don’t approve, and of his administration of the government, with 55% approval compared to 40% who don’t approve.
On foreign affairs, 54% of Utahns said they approve of the job Trump is doing compared to 40% who don’t approve.
While Trump also campaigned on economic issues, Utahns weren’t overwhelming in their support of the president’s economic moves.
Just over half, 51%, of respondents approve of Trump’s work on the economy so far, with 44% disapproving. He received similar levels of support on inflation.
The issue of tariffs and international trade, a matter he campaigned on, is the only issue Utahns disapprove of more than approve. The survey found 48% of respondents disapprove of Trump’s trade and tariff policy, while just 46% approve.
Perry argued that Trump’s lower performance on economic issues in the state will need to be watched when its time to head to the polls.
“When you talk to voters, when it comes time to vote, those are the things that are highest on their list,” he said. “His approval on things like immigration and reducing the cost of government, which is important, but in the end, the economy itself, soon as we start looking to midterm elections and to the next election cycle, that issue is going to come up high again.”
The survey was conducted online from May 16-21 among 805 registered voters in Utah by HarrisX. The margin of error is +/- 3.5 percentage points.