President Donald Trump’s approval rating following his March 4, 2025, address to a joint session of Congress reflects a polarized and shifting public response. The speech, delivered six weeks into his second term, focused heavily on domestic issues—highlighting tariffs, a “golden age” vision, and conservative wins—while largely sidestepping foreign policy despite his administration’s early global moves. Here’s what we know about his approval ratings post-speech:
Specific post-speech polls offer a mixed picture. A CNN poll of speech-watchers—skewing Republican by 14 points—found 70% had at least a somewhat positive reaction, though only 44% rated it “very positive,” a tepid response compared to historical first-term address bounces.
However, this group’s optimism didn’t shift broader public sentiment much: pre-speech, 61% of watchers thought Trump’s policies were on the right track; post-speech, this edged up to 66%.
Among the general public, CNN’s pre-speech poll (February 24–28) had Trump at 48% approval and 52% disapproval, and no significant post-speech bounce was reported by March 5. A Reuters/Ipsos poll ending March 4 showed just 33% approved of his handling of cost-of-living issues—tied to new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China—dragging his overall approval to 44%, with 49% saying the country was on the wrong track.
WATCH: CNN polling guru shocked that Trump's approval ratings over Biden on Russia-Ukraine handling are on a “different planet.”
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) March 6, 2025
“Look at Biden in 2024. He was 22 points under water. Holy cow!” Trump is now at +2.
Gap of approval between them is “wider than the Gulf of… pic.twitter.com/yoD6UtZQzM
X posts from March 5 reflect this divide. Some users cited a 76% approval rating for the speech itself (possibly from a CBS/YouGov snap poll of viewers), with supporters praising his command of the room.
Others pointed to FiveThirtyEight’s underwater numbers, with critics noting his base loved it (70% of MAGA, one speculated) while Democrats jeered—some literally walked out during the address. The speech’s audience-specific approval (69% positive per CNN, 76% per CBS) didn’t translate to a wider lift, likely due to its partisan tilt and the broader public’s economic unease.
Context matters here. Trump’s 47.6% approval on March 4–5 is higher than his first term’s early low (40% in February 2017) but lags behind Biden’s 53.4% or Obama’s 66% at similar points.
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