Most Americans agree — Trump exerts more power than past presidents, poll finds

A majority of Americans believe President Donald Trump is attempting to wield unprecedented power — and many of those who think this describe it as a negative thing for the nation, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

At the same time, most Americans suspect Trump has improperly used his office to punish his enemies and enrich himself.

Meanwhile, less than half believe he has improved the functioning of government and the country’s standing in the world.

The survey — conducted September 22-28 with 3,445 U.S. adults — comes eight months into Trump’s second term. During this period, he has enacted significant policy measures such as cracking down on illegal immigration, deploying the National Guard to multiple U.S. cities and signing into law the “One, Big Beautiful Bill.”

On the international stage, Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on numerous countries, reversed course on funding the Ukraine war and negotiated the “first phase” of a peace agreement in Gaza.

Trump’s use of power

In the poll, 69% of respondents said that Trump is trying to exercise more presidential power compared to his recent predecessors.

Twenty-one percent said he’s attempting to use the same amount, while just 2% said he’s attempting to use less power than past presidents.

Of the roughly 7 in 10 respondents who said they believe Trump is exerting more authority, 49% describe this as a bad thing for the nation, while 12% characterize it as good.

This question resulted in major partisan divisions, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of 1.9 percentage points.

The overwhelming majority of Democrats and left-leaning independents said Trump is moving to consolidate unprecedented power. Republicans and right-leaning independents were more split, with 49% of them describing Trump as attempting to exert a higher degree of authority.

Other Trump ratings

The survey also revealed many Americans see the president as abusing his office, while failing to improve the country’s governance.

Two-thirds of respondents said Trump has definitely or probably abused his power to “punish those who say things he does not like.”

Sixty-two percent said he has inappropriately pushed for his political enemies to be investigated, and 61% said he has wrongly used his position to “enrich himself or his friends and family.”

Meanwhile, majorities said the Republican president has definitely or probably not improved the functioning of government (59%) or bettered the nation’s standing on the world stage (60%).

Similarly, 60% said Trump has definitely or likely has not overseen a transparent administration, and 64% said he certainly or probably hasn’t “set a high moral standard for the presidency.”

On these questions, again there were major partisan differences.

Most Republicans and GOP learners said Trump has improved government operations and bettered America’s image around the world, while less than half said he has abused his office and encouraged investigations into his opponents.

Meanwhile, most Democrats and left-leaning independents said Trump has not improved government functioning or the country’s global standing, while most said he has misused his authority.

This story was originally published October 9, 2025 at 12:12 PM with the headline "Most Americans agree — Trump exerts more power than past presidents, poll finds."