As the first 100 days of President Donald Trump's second term approached, Democrats and the media were all too happy to highlight the negative, even though it was still better than how former President Joe Biden had finished his term. The polls not only showed hopeful news on Trump's top issue of immigration, but that there was also room for growth. Sure enough, he's improved, as we've been following when it comes to polls taking note. With the arbitrary date of the first 100 days almost a month behind us, it's not only Trump improving, but his fellow Republicans.
A poll conducted May 20-21 by RMG Research and Napolitan News has some welcoming news for Republicans on which voters trust them more on. Of the 10 issues voters were asked about, Republicans and Democrats each lead on half. But, it's the key issues that Republicans lead on, improving on their barely there leads and even overtaking Democrats' leads from last month, as InteractivePolls highlighted on X. Sure enough, a release about the poll from Napolitan News highlighted how "Republicans Back In Front On Top 2 Issues."
Immigration is not only Trump's best issue, one which he consistently led on in the polls ahead of the 2024 election, whether he was running against Biden or then-Vice President Kamala Harris, but it looks to be one of the top ones for the Republican Party. They enjoy a +16 trust issue over Democrats, with voters saying they trust Republicans 48-32 percent over Democrats. That +16 margin is the same with crime, which CNN's Harry Enten has spoken up about when it comes to highlighting Trump's approval and improvement on this issue compared to Biden and his own first term. The numbers are similar there, 47-31 percent for Republicans.
Republicans are also at +8 on the economy (45-37 percent), which has certainly been an issue where Trump has had room to grow. Republicans traditionally had the edge on this issue, which is why there was so much chatter when they were up by just +1 last month. Any excitement Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media may have had on that has thus fizzled out. They're similarly up by +7 on gun laws, 43-36 percent.
On another key issue of inflation, Republicans once more take the lead at a +6, 43-37 percent. It was actually Democrats who led on that issue in April, by +4.
There are issues where Democrats lead, and it's on the ones you'd expect them to. That Democrats only lead by +5 on "Gender Identity," one of their buzzwords if there ever was one, is certainly significant, in that it's so paltry.
Their best issue is on "Climate change," where they lead by +18, unsurprising given the party going all in on climate alarmism, especially when it comes to the Biden-Harris administration. Biden even admitted that the woefully misnamed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) shouldn’t have been called what it was, since it had to do with this pet issue of climate change. Although they're up by +18 on climate change, Democrats still only enjoy a plurality of support, with 46 percent of voters saying they trust them more on the issue compared to the 28 percent of Republicans.
The parties are statistically tied when it comes to which one voters trust more on the issue that matters most to them. "Overall, on the issue that is most important to them, 42% trust Republicans more, and 41% trust Democrats. Six percent (6%) trust both equally, and 10% trust neither," the press release mentioned.
Which political party do you trust more on each of the following issues?
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) May 26, 2025
🔴 Immigration: R+16
🔴 Crime: R+16
🔴 Economy: R+8 (was R+1 in April)
🔴 Gun laws: R+7
🔴 Inflation: R+6 (was D+4)
——
🔵 Gender Identity: D+5
🔵 Education: D+8
🔵 Health Care: D+10
🔵 Abortion: D+12
🔵… pic.twitter.com/V1FBl4FCnF
The data came from an online survey of 1,000 registered voters conducted by Scott Rasmussen, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
It's no surprise that the economy and inflation are the top issues. They continue to remain in the news, with Democrats having no issue going after Trump and his administration, even when it comes to fearmongering and gaslighting, which is particularly rich given that the Biden-Harris administration only ended just over four months ago. There's also been plenty of talk about the economy and tariffs. Late last week, not long after the poll was conducted and shortly before its release, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick spoke with NewsNation's Chris Cuomo to offer some encouragement on those topics. As he referenced, House Republicans also passed the "big, beautiful bill" late last week, with Lutnick focusing on the economic benefits it will bring.
While this RMG Research does show Trump going down slightly with his approval ratings, the president's overall approval rating is improving. The same goes for key issues. He also remains above water on his top issue of immigration, all according to RealClearPolling.
These poll results also come as more good news has come out in the polls, as Sarah covered earlier. Mark Mitchell, a Rasmussen reporter, also indicated their polling now shows that 50 percent believe the country is on the "right track," the first time since they started polling that question in 2006.
Holy crap - it happened!
— Mark Mitchell, Rasmussen Reports (@honestpollster) May 27, 2025
🔥For the first time in our polling history A MAJORITY says the country is on the right track🔥
Don't F it up, Republicans.
Update: Right Direction Just In
— Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) May 27, 2025
Rolling average of last night and prior 4-nights
Uncharted Territory https://t.co/ZlNj0PLrcK pic.twitter.com/K1fZgfbKTG
Other polls, as we've been covering this year for Trump's second term, have also shown good news on such a question, especially in comparison to Biden, and going back decades even.
Earlier on Tuesday, the White House celebrated all of these signs of victory and more with a press release on how "Consumer Confidence Surges, Majority Says We’re on ‘Right Track,’" complete with emojis about stocks rising.
"Despite doomsday prophesizing by the ‘experts,’ President Trump’s America First economic agenda of tariffs, tax cuts, rapid deregulation, and domestic energy production continues to pay off. Today’s consumer confidence report reflects multiple solid inflation and jobs reports that Americans have seen under President Trump, as well as a GDP report that showed a whopping 22 percent spike in Gross Domestic Investment in Q1 2025," said White House spokesperson Kush Desai.
As the release also mentioned:
As President Donald J. Trump tames inflation, lowers gas prices, equalizes trade, and secures historic investments, Americans are feeling the results of the new Golden Age.
- Consumer confidence surged in May with the biggest monthly jump in four years, according to the Consumer Confidence Index — far surpassing economists’ expectations.
- Bloomberg: “A gauge of consumer expectations for the next six months surged by the most since 2011, while a measure of present conditions climbed as well, data released Tuesday showed. The improvement in confidence was broad across age and income groups as well as political affiliations.”
- A majority of Americans say the country is on the right track for the first time in decades, according to new polling — while the RealClearPolitics polling average for the direction of the country is at its most favorable since May 2021.
The midterms are just under 18 months away, which is certainly a significant period of time in the minds of voters. That Trump (overall) and Republicans have already improved on their numbers may not necessarily be a sign to get overconfident — especially with the failure of a red wave to materialize nationwide in 2022 — but it also shows that Republicans may have a fighting chance to hold onto their majorities for the 2026 elections and enact the president's agenda and legacy, especially in comparison to 2018 for Trump's first term.
