According to a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll conducted January 27–30, 2026, and released on the eve of the President’s State of the Union address, 55% of American adults believe Donald Trump is changing the country for the worse.
This is the highest figure for this formulation in both Trump terms. By comparison, in a similar poll in March 2025, 48% held this opinion, and 51% in April. In 2018 (a year into his first term), the share of those who believed Trump was leading the country to a worse place was 42%.
Key poll figures:
60% of respondents believe the country is worse off than it was a year ago.
57% believe the state of the union is weak or not strong at all.
Two-thirds of Americans (about 67%) say the system of checks and balances in the US is not working well.
The partisan divide remains extremely deep:
89-90% of Democrats believe Trump is worsening the country’s situation.
About 82% of Republicans, on the contrary, believe the situation has improved.
Among independent voters, negativity prevails: two-thirds see a worsening of the situation compared to last year.
The survey also records a rise in pessimism: 53% of respondents said Trump’s policies have already had a predominantly negative impact on their personal lives (an increase of 4 percentage points over the past year).
The results were published the day before Trump’s State of the Union address on February 25, 2026. Many commentators note that the president is facing serious political difficulties amid falling approval ratings and a particularly sharp decline in support among independent voters.