A lot of the American public is souring on billionaire Elon Musk and the heavy affect he seems to wield over the federal authorities.
Fifty-two % of registered voters have an unfavorable view of Musk, whereas simply 39% view him favorably, based on new information from the polling agency Civiqs. That features a stark gender divide: A bit of beneath half of male voters (45%) have a good view of Musk in contrast with 57% of feminine voters who view him unfavorably.
Greater than three-quarters (79%) of Republicans held the X proprietor in excessive regard, whereas 95% of Democrats aren’t a fan. Independents lean towards Democrats’ opinion too, with 52% having an unfavorable view of Musk and solely 36% having a good view.
Nonetheless, there was a time when Musk wasn’t practically as a lot within the public eye and Individuals had a comparatively constructive view of him. However turning X right into a far-right echo chamber and cozying as much as President Donald Trump appears to have sullied his picture. Within the span of some months, Musk dunked on a latest synthetic intelligence enterprise Trump introduced and helped defeat a authorities spending invoice in Congress. You’d suppose this might be sufficient to maintain him busy, however Musk additionally managed to piss off a few of Trump’s largest allies, together with former adviser Steve Bannon, who appears to essentially despise him.
“He is a truly evil guy, a very bad guy,” Bannon mentioned of Musk in January. “I made it my personal thing to take this guy down.”
A January survey from The Related Press/NORC Middle for Public Affairs Analysis reveals how a lot Musk’s latest strikes have harmed his public notion. In accordance with the ballot, greater than half of Individuals (52%) had an unfavorable opinion of Musk, in contrast with 36% who considered him favorably, placing him 16 factors underwater. Evaluate that to a December survey from the identical pollster that confirmed Musk’s favorability solely 10 factors underwater.
Different latest polls again this up:
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A Wall Avenue Journal ballot had Musk’s favorability 11 factors underwater (40% favorable, 51% unfavorable).
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A Marist Faculty ballot for NPR and PBS Information discovered Musk 9 factors underwater (37% favorable, 46% unfavorable) amongst registered voters.
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Then there’s a Quinnipiac College ballot from December that had Musk 5 factors underwater (39% favorable, 44% unfavorable). Evaluate that with a Quinnipiac survey performed two years prior, in December 2022, which confirmed Musk being barely above water (36% favorable, 33% unfavorable).
Maybe Individuals dislike Musk as a result of he’s linked to Trump, who’s hellbent on pushing via unpopular issues like tariffs on merchandise from Canada and Mexico.
Then once more, in addition they may not like Musk’s Division of Authorities Effectivity, an advisory fee with no direct energy over the federal authorities. It is sensible that Individuals are on edge about Musk’s well-publicized guarantees to slash federal spending. In spite of everything, a Information for Progress ballot for the Progressive Change Institute reveals almost definitely voters are very involved about DOGE’s risk to Social Safety, Medicare, Medicaid, the Inexpensive Care Act, veteran’s well being care applications, and meals help for low-income households.
On high of that, Musk appears to wield numerous governmental energy for somebody who was by no means elected to public workplace. And a number of other polls present that folks don’t like how a lot affect he appears to have over Trump and Republicans.
The December survey from Quinnipiac additionally confirmed that 53% of voters disapprove of Musk’s main position within the Trump administration. However there’s a partisan cut up. Whereas 90% of Democrats are against his position within the administration, 81% of Republicans approve of it. (Independents are largely towards Musk’s position as properly, with 57% disapproving.)
Different polls have discovered related outcomes. As an illustration, The Wall Avenue Journal’s ballot discovered that half of voters suppose it’s a foul concept for Musk to advise Trump on spending payments and different issues, whereas simply 39% say it’s a good suggestion for him to take action.
What’s extra, Information for Progress discovered that 51% of probably voters imagine Musk will use DOGE to his personal profit as an alternative of creating the federal government extra environment friendly. Whereas Democrats (74%) have been extra probably than impartial or third-party voters (49%) suppose this, Republicans expressed issues too. An eyebrow-raising 29% of Republicans agree that Musk will use DOGE to “redirect more government resources towards himself and weaponize the federal government to undermine his business rivals.”
These mixed information factors counsel that the political center is over Musk. And even some who don’t but despise him are cautious of what he’ll do as Trump’s “first buddy.”
And for Trump, Musk would possibly change into a giant legal responsibility if the bottom activates him much more than they have already got.
