Majority in US say Trump prioritises personal wealth over all else: Poll

A majority of US adults say President Trump and his family have inappropriately profited from presidency.

US President Donald Trump walks to the White House after arriving in Washington, DC, on October 12, 2026 [AFP]

Most US adults believe President Donald Trump has placed his personal financial interests and those of his inner circle ahead of the country’s since returning to the White House in 2025, according to a new nationwide poll.

The poll, conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and released on Tuesday, suggests that public perception of the Republican president leans heavily critical: Over half of surveyed adults view Trump’s second term as self-serving by investing in his own business and commercial pursuits “a lot”. Roughly one quarter believe he focuses on national interests, but only 11 percent feel Trump represents regular Americans. Fifty-five percent of Republicans surveyed said that Trump has prioritised his personal business interests “a lot” or “some”.

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Half of the respondents report that Trump has placed zero priority on people “like them”.

As Trump’s family business pulls in record funds from new ventures helped by his policies, the poll results suggest that most US adults think growing his own finances has been the north star of Trump’s presidency, at least to some extent.

Trump’s June financial disclosure revealed massive post-election influxes of foreign and corporate capital into his business empire, stemming primarily from over $1bn in cryptocurrency ventures after he loosened regulation on the industry, as well as from international real estate.

During his first year as president, the Trump Organisation – Trump’s multinational family-owned enterprise dedicated to property development and global brand licensing – made eight real estate deals with authoritarian or one-party foreign states. Some speculate these countries were highly motivated to maintain favourable relations with the US to keep Trump happy on fronts like trade tariffs, military protection and private business dealings.

The administration, meanwhile, has repeatedly dismissed concerns over Trump’s business conflicts of interest, maintaining that he acts solely in the interest of Americans.

In late September, a separate Reuters/Ipsos poll found that Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 32 percent – the lowest of his ⁠political career – as his fellow Republicans soured on his handling of the cost of living crisis amid the deeply unpopular Iran war.

The dip in performance and approval ratings follows a high point in January 2025, when the newly inaugurated president boasted a 47 percent approval rating right after taking office.

According to the AP-NORC poll, which surveyed more than 2,000 US adults in late September, general sentiment around the administration’s ethical conduct is highly polarised, with far more citizens feeling that the president has neither prioritised the country as a whole nor everyday Americans.

Just over 40 percent of respondents believe Trump has “done something illegal” vis-a-vis allegations of personal enrichment while in office, with another 18 percent viewing his financial dealings as “unethical but not illegal”.

Opinions surrounding the lawfulness of the president’s financial practices split sharply along party lines, with Democrats overwhelmingly viewing the actions as illegal, compared with about three in 10 independents and about one in 10 Republicans, who largely see his behaviour as justified.

大多数美国成年人认为，特朗普总统及其家人不正当地利用总统职位牟利。

2026年10月12日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普抵达华盛顿特区后步行前往白宫。[法新社]

一项新的全国民意调查显示，大多数美国成年人认为，自唐纳德·特朗普总统2025年重返白宫以来，他将自己的个人经济利益和核心圈子的利益置于国家利益之上。

这项由美联社-NORC公共事务研究中心进行的民调于周二发布，结果显示公众对这位共和党总统的看法普遍持批评态度：超过半数的受访成年人认为，特朗普的第二个任期过于注重自身利益，大量投资于他自己的商业活动。约四分之一的人认为他关注国家利益，但只有11%的人认为特朗普代表了普通美国民众。55%的受访共和党人表示，特朗普“非常”或“在一定程度上”优先考虑了他的个人商业利益。

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列表 3/3：尽管与内塔尼亚胡有着长期的交情，但随着以色列公投临近，特朗普的态度有所缓和。

一半的受访者表示，特朗普对“像他们这样的人”完全不予重视。

随着特朗普家族企业从其政策扶持的新项目中获得了创纪录的资金，民调结果显示，大多数美国成年人认为，至少在某种程度上，增加自身财富一直是特朗普总统任期的北极星。

特朗普六月份的财务披露显示，大选后大量外国和企业资本涌入他的商业帝国，主要来自他放松对加密货币行业的监管后超过 10 亿美元的加密货币投资，以及国际房地产投资。

在他担任总统的第一年，特朗普集团——这家由特朗普家族拥有的跨国企业，专注于房地产开发和全球品牌授权——与一些专制或一党制国家达成了八项房地产交易。有人猜测，这些国家之所以极力与美国保持良好关系，是为了在贸易关税、军事保护和私人商业交易等领域取悦特朗普。

与此同时，特朗普政府一再驳斥有关特朗普商业利益冲突的担忧，坚称他的一切行为都完全是为了美国人民的利益。

9 月下旬，路透社/益普索的另一项民意调查发现，由于共和党同僚对他处理生活成本危机的方式感到不满，加上伊朗战争极不受欢迎，特朗普的支持率已降至 32%，这是他政治生涯中的最低点。

在 2025 年 1 月达到高峰之后，总统的执政表现和支持率均出现下滑。当时，这位新上任的总统在就职后立即获得了 47% 的支持率。

根据美联社-NORC公共事务研究中心在9月下旬对2000多名美国成年人进行的民意调查，民众对本届政府的道德行为普遍看法两极分化，绝大多数民众认为总统既没有将国家整体利益放在首位，也没有将普通美国民众的利益放在首位。

超过 40% 的受访者认为，特朗普在任期间涉嫌个人致富，属于“违法行为”，另有 18% 的受访者认为他的财务交易“不道德但不违法”。

对于总统的财务行为是否合法，各方意见存在明显的党派分歧。绝大多数民主党人认为这些行为是非法的，而大约十分之三的独立人士和十分之一的共和党人则普遍认为他的行为是正当的。