ONE hundred days into Donald Trump’s presidency, white Evangelicals remain among his staunchest supporters, a new poll by the Pew Research Center has found.
Of a survey of 3589 US adults, 72 per cent approved of the way in which he was leading the country as President, and almost as many, 69 per cent, said that they approved of the ethics of his administration. Some 57 per cent said that they trusted what President Trump said more than they trusted the words of his predecessors.
White Evangelicals have always been a powerful bloc behind the Trump presidency; he won 81 per cent of their support at the last election (News, 8 November 2024). The latest survey, carried out over a week last month, however, also provides evidence that even among this group his support is slipping slightly in the early days of the new administration.
Nationally, his support has slipped seven per cent, and among white Evangelicals there has been a six-per-cent fall in his approval rating since February.
Among other Christian groupings, his support is less secure and more divided, the Pew survey suggests.
White non-Evangelical Protestants and white Catholics are more divided in their opinion of the second Trump presidency so far, with 51 per cent of each group saying that they approve of his work.
A majority of Black Protestants and Hispanic Catholics disapproved of his presidency so far.
When asked explicitly about his use of executive orders — such as halting all aid to immigrants and refugees and cutting aid programmes — majorities of Black Protestants and Hispanic Catholics said that he had used the orders too much in his first 100 days. But white Evangelicals disagreed, 53 per cent supporting his use of orders.
Sizeable majorities of Evangelicals also back his removal of diversity-and-inclusion policies, cuts to federal departments and agencies, and the introduction of trade tariffs.
