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“Promises Made, Promises Kept” was the slogan from the Trump White House that commemorated the 45th president’s ability to deliver the campaign promises made when he first announced his candidacy in 2016.
Already the likely nominee for the Republican Party, President Donald Trump has made more campaign promises, which, of course, has garnered much attention from liberals and conservatives alike.
In a recent poll conducted by YouGov, 1,000 respondents provided insight into various policies currently being supported by the president, shedding light onto where public opinion stands in conjunction with his views.
This article will break down President Trump’s top 10 policies that have received the most American support.
10) “Drill, baby drill!”
President Trump has fervently promised to deregulate the energy industry, and “drill, baby drill,” a sharp contrast against Joe Biden’s stated commitment to end drilling on offshore and on federal lands.
However, Americans seemingly believe that the nation should ease regulations to “allow for more drilling on federal land,” according to the survey.
40 percent of respondents agreed with the deregulation called for by Trump, while 39 percent opposed these policies. Moreover, 59 percent of those who agreed with the sentiment lived in the midwest and south, where much of the oil that is drilled in the nation is produced.
9) Trump Tariffs
During his term in office, President Trump’s tariffs on foreign imports was met with favor from various conservatives and entrepreneurs alike—though it received staunch oppositions from members on the left.
However, Trump has now rallied to impose a 10 percent tariff on all goods imported to the U.S.—a policy supported by a majority of Americans, to discourage manufacturers from leaving the United States.
According to the poll, 40 percent of respondents agree with increasing these tariffs, while only 29 percent opposed this idea. Interestingly, more Democrats, more than one-third, agreed with increasing tariffs, than independents, of which 31 percent approved.
8) Critical Race Theory
One controversial topic that has been debated across the nation is the teaching of Critical Race Theory—a concept that President Trump said would “teach our children to hate America,” during various campaign stops—to public school kids.
The president has clearly communicated his opposition to the teachings, promising to “sign a new executive order to cut federal funding for any school pushing Critical Race Theory” and other “inappropriate” content onto children.
Notably, 43 percent of Americans agreed with the president’s stance to ban Critical Race Theory, while 40 percent of the respondents believed the opposite.
Among Democrats, 20 percent believed in outlawing its teachings, along with 74 percent of Republicans, and 38 percent of independent respondents.
7) Prayer in Public Schools
In accordance with his promise to ban Critical Race Theory, President Trump has encouraged the inclusion of faith-based practices in public schools—particularly school prayer.
According to the survey, 46 percent of respondents stated the nation should promote its practice on a higher level, while 43 percent expressed disagreement.
The Trump administration previously enacted safeguards to protect prayer across public schools. Among these were the rules preventing educational institutions from stifling students’ prayers, reading religious texts, organizing prayer groups, and expressing religious beliefs in assignments.
6) Funding Religious Schools
Additionally, President Trump has called for investing funds into religious schools—signifying his acknowledgment for the creation of diverse educational opportunities for students and their families.
Trump has particularly advocated for allowing parents to apply public funds to private or religious educational institutions as a means of promoting school choice and parental autonomy.
The survey unveiled that 44 percent of Americans agree with providing more funds to religious schools, while 37 percent disagreed with the idea.
The idea of having more school choice received net positive support from both independents and Republicans, for which 41 percent of independents voiced their agreement, along with 64 percent of Republicans.
5) “Build the wall!”
Perhaps President Trump’s most famous campaign promise of all time was his pledge to construct a great wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to deter illegal border crossings.
Although Joe Biden has spoken out against the construction of a border wall, even attempting to remove barriers that lie between Texas and Mexico, Americans have taken to the immigration policies of President Trump.
49 percent of Americans believed that some sort of border wall should be constructed, and 41 percent disagreed with the statement.
One-fourth of Democrats supported the plan, which also received support from 41 percent of Independents, and also 84 percent of Republicans.
4) Deportations
Along with construction of a border wall, Americans reported that they wish to see undocumented migrants arrested and deported from the United States—particularly after the historic high of 2.5 million illegal border encounters in 2023.
The YouGov poll reported that 51 percent of respondents advocated for the arrest and deportation of thousands of illegal immigrants, and 36 percent claimed to support the opposite.
While a majority of Independents (48 percent) and Republicans (79 percent) supported this policy, a surprisingly high 30 percent of Democrats also agreed with the policy, despite its neglect from the Biden administration.
3) Recognizing Two Genders
Interestingly, the issue of genders has become a frequently discussed issue between members of the left and right, with many liberals recognizing a plethora of different genders rather than the traditional two.
However, this idea does not seem to have garnered support from the majority of the electorate, according to the YouGov survey. 53 percent of respondents agreed with a Trump plan to pass a law establishing that only two genders, as determined at birth, are recognized by the United States.
Only 35 percent of the respondents disagreed with the Trump plan, the poll results showed.
2) Transgender Surgery For Minors
Regarding the issue of doctors performing life-altering transgender surgery on minors, a vast majority of Americans wish to see the practice outlawed—a sentiment also held by President Trump.
According to the poll, a whopping 57 percent of Americans believe in axing this procedure on minors, while the remaining 32 percent believed the life-altering surgeries should still be allowed.
Nearly one-third of Biden voters and 38 percent of Democrats expressed opposition to transgender surgeries on minors, while 52 percent of independent voters and 84 percent of Republicans also joined the chorus.
President Trump has repeatedly called for banning transgender surgeries on minors, promising to pass a law across each state that would punish doctors and hospitals that provided the procedures.
In addition to outlawing the surgeries, a Trump plan would also eliminate the prospects for hormonal treatment on minors, according to a report from The Hill.
Whereas, Joe Biden has previously stated to parents of transgender children that “affirming your child’s identity is one of the most powerful things you can do to keep them safe and healthy.”
1) Remain in Mexico
Illegal immigration has become a top concern among Americans as the nation has experienced a mass influx of migrants lawlessly crossing over southern border into the United States.
The Biden administration has seemingly ignored this issue, even opting to encourage it even further when advocating for the removal of barbed wire fence along the border between Texas and Mexico.
However, the vast majority of Americans disagree with this sentiment.
President Trump’s immigration policies have received the most approval of all of his stances, specifically his plan to keep illegal aliens in Mexico while their claims were processed in the United States.
56 percent of Americans agreed with Trump’s hard-line border policies, and 24 percent felt otherwise. An additional 20 percent of those surveyed also reported being undecided.
Interestingly, 40 percent of Democrats, 53 percent of Independents, and 76 percent of Republicans approved of Trump’s plan to let migrants wait in Mexico.
Trump has advocated for an immigration plan identical to the policies from his presidency—including “Remain in Mexico.”
The Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy required those who illegally crossed the southern border to wait in Mexico while their cases were processed in American immigration courts.
The Biden administration officially ended the Trump-era policy in August 2022, a plan that Biden himself has called “racist” and “extreme.”
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