Democratic lawmakers may have bristled at President Donald Trump’s triumphant return to the Capitol, but polling suggests their constituents felt differently.
A CBS News/YouGov survey, conducted immediately after Trump’s joint address to Congress, polled a nationally representative sample of speech watchers—and the results are likely to delight the poll-conscious president.
The poll shows an overwhelming 76 percent of Americans viewing the speech approved of Trump’s remarks, with only 23 percent — less than a quarter — disapproving.
Sixty-eight percent of viewers described Trump’s speech as “hopeful,” with a majority also describing it as “presidential,” “inspiring,” “unifying,” and “entertaining.”
A clear majority of Americans who watched President Trump’s address felt he focused on issues that mattered to them, according to the CBS News/YouGov survey.
More than two-thirds of viewers said Trump has a clear plan to tackle inflation, which began under President Joe Biden. Additionally, over three-quarters of respondents supported Trump’s proposals on reducing government waste, immigration, and border security. Despite negative press coverage leading up to the speech, nearly one-quarter of viewers approved of Trump’s approach to handling Ukraine and Russia, Breitbart News reported, citing the polling results.
While presidential address audiences typically lean toward the sitting president’s party, the survey found that only 51% of viewers identified as Republicans, suggesting that Trump’s message resonated beyond his base.
Finally, more than three-quarters of viewers approved of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) ordering the Sergeant at Arms to remove Rep. Al Green (D-TX) from the chamber after he disrupted President Trump’s speech despite multiple warnings.
Trump also won praise from members of the Republican Party and many in the media.
“Tonight, President Trump made his triumphant return to Congress to share his bold, optimistic vision for renewing the American Dream,” Johnson noted on the X platform.
“This is the fifth State of the Union address I’ve seen Trump give — it was by far his best,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) added.
“The best moment — emotional moment, was DJ, who’s battling cancer. He wanted to be a police officer and during the speech, the president said the Secret Service has made him an agent,” Fox News anchor Bret Baier said, reflecting on a teen cancer survivor in the audience whom the president recognized during his speech.
“If you ever doubted that Donald Trump is the political colossus of our time and our nation, this night and this speech should have put that to rest,” Fox’s Brit Hume noted as well.
Former Fox liberal Geraldo Rivera added: “Trump was strong, defiant and entertaining.”
Former CNN politico Chris Cillizza said, “That was a very effective speech. You can hate it or him. But that speech was aimed squarely at issues where the public is with Trump — and filled with made-for-sharing moments. A master image-maker at work (and you can hate him and acknowledge that’s true!)”
“I am just left feeling inspired and hopeful and there’s so much to look forward to,” said former collegiate champion swimmer and women in sports advocate Riley Gaines noted online.
“This speech is one of Trump’s best ever, and the Democrat behavior during it has been not only despicable but also colossally politically stupid. Whoever is advising these idiots just steered their party into an even deeper ditch than Joe Biden and Kamala Harris left them in,” Brietbart’s Matthew Boyle reflected.
A voter in Pennsylvania said, “I thought it was very positive… We used to be a country that would just let everything happen… I think now, we’re taking back things that should’ve never been given away. So, I think doing those tariffs… it’s well overdue.”
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