President Donald Trump’s second term has been characterized by a flurry of action, both on the ground in the United States as well as abroad.
Trump celebrated the deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., and has turned his sights on other cities across the country he says he wants to rid of crime. This has led to conflict with Democratic governors who say he’s overstepping his authority.
Overseas, the Trump administration helped secure a peace deal between Israel and Hamas, and is now looking to rebuild war-torn Gaza. He continues to try to negotiate with Russia and Ukraine to end the war in Europe, but hasn’t had the influence with Russian President Vladimir Putin he claimed to.
The president is now on a multiday trip across Asia to continue talks with leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In the latest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll, conducted by Morning Consult, Utahns were asked if they approve of Trump’s job performance in the first nine months of his second term.
A slight majority of the state’s voters said they strongly or somewhat approve of Trump’s performance. Among the 809 voters surveyed, 51% of Utahns approve of Trump’s job as president. Another 46% said they somewhat or strongly disapprove.
Hinckley Institute Director Jason Perry noted that the president’s job approval was slightly higher in a summer poll conducted by another survey group, when 54% said they strongly or somewhat approved of Trump’s job performance.
“President Trump’s approval among Utahns has dipped slightly, which may reflect growing concern about inflation and broader uncertainty in the economy,” Perry said. “While he continues to hold majority support, the small decline suggests that confidence in his leadership may be tied to ongoing economic concerns.”
Utahns weigh in on Trump’s policy
In the survey, Utahns were asked how well they think Trump is doing on key issues and on delivering on some of his biggest promises on the campaign trail.
Respondents largely approve of the president’s actions on most issues, but approval of his policies looks like it’s dropped slightly among Utah voters compared to an earlier survey conducted by another polling group.
For example, in the latest survey, 54% of respondents either strongly or somewhat approve of Trump’s handling of immigration. In a July poll, 56% approved. Similarly, this survey found 42% approved of Trump’s tariffs and trade policies, whereas in the last poll, he earned 47% approval.
He also lost support on inflation. In July, 49% of Utahns approved of his job tackling inflation. Now, Trump has just 40% of respondents who either strongly or somewhat approve of his actions on inflation.
Trump has recently claimed inflation has been “taken care of” and “defeated,” or taken down to a low number. However, consumer prices are still rising, albeit more slowly than over the past few years.
Foreign affairs and peace deal
When asked how they view Trump’s handling of foreign policy, 49% of Utahns said they approve of his foreign affairs policies, compared to 43% who said they disapprove.
When asked about the proposed ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, voters in the state give Trump high marks.
Utahns overwhelmingly support Trump’s peace deal in the Middle East, with 76% of respondents saying they strongly or somewhat approve of the plan, which includes a ceasefire between both parties, the release of hostages, Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza, and reconstruction of the war-torn Gaza Strip. Just 7% of respondents disapproved of the peace deal.
The deal is also popular among Democrats in the state, with 69% of registered Democrats in Utah approving of the Trump-brokered agreement.
Other trends
The president continued to perform better with male voters (57%) in Utah than female voters (46%), and scored better among older residents.
Approval of Trump’s job performance was identical among voters ages 18–34 and 35–44, with 47% in each group expressing approval. Older voters, among those ages 45-64, 54% expressed approval. Trump earned the highest approval rating, 60%, among Utahns who are 65 and older.
Like previous surveys, Trump performed better with Republicans than voters registered with different parties. Republican Utahns overwhelmingly approve of Trump’s performance (82%), while just about a third of independent voters approve (31%). Only a fraction of Democrats in the state think Trump is doing a good job (6%).
The survey was conducted Oct. 17-22 among 809 registered voters in Utah. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.