The majority of Americans in a new survey are seeking a toned-down agenda for President-elect Trump’s next term, which is set to start on Monday.
A Wall Street Journal poll released Friday found that while 53 percent of Americans want the incoming president to make big changes to how the government is run, more than 60 percent disagree with his idea to replace thousands of career civil-service workers.
The data also shows that more than 60 percent of Americans oppose Trump eliminating the Department of Education and only 18 percent agree with giving the president more power over federal spending.
On immigration issues, which are expected to be a major focus of Trump’s executive actions when he returns to the Oval Office, about 75 percent of Americans said they want migrants with criminal records removed from the U.S. and 70 percent said longtime residents without criminal records shouldn’t be removed, the survey found.
Also on day one, Trump has said he wants to pardon “most” rioters accused or convicted of storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The Friday poll found that 57 percent of Americans disagree with pardons for those convicted in connection to those riots.
The majority said they oppose using force to retake control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, after Trump has targeted those places and did not rule out using military action. Roughly two-thirds of Americans said they oppose making Canada part of the U.S., while the president-elect has said he wants the neighbors up north to be the 51st state.
On domestic issues, half of those polled said it’s a bad idea for Tesla CEO Elon Musk to advise Trump and 64 percent of respondents said they oppose ending birthright citizenship, after the president-elect pledged to remove it on day one.
About 48 percent of voters in the survey said they support Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on imported goods, while 68 percent said they think tariffs will make products more expensive.
The poll also found that only 36 percent of Americans approve of President Biden’s job performance and only 12 percent said they thought he would be fit to serve another four years in office. Biden dropped out of the 2024 race in July amid concerns over his age and stamina and endorsed Vice President Harris, who lost to Trump in November.
The Wall Street Journal poll was conducted from Jan. 9-14 and included 1,500 U.S. voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
