Voters Think Musk Has Too Much Influence, Describe Trump’s Administration as “Chaotic”
A new Data for Progress survey, fielded January 31-February 2, examines voters' attitudes toward President Trump’s first few weeks back in the Oval Office.
Trump has built a close partnership with billionaire Elon Musk, who leads the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In the survey, both men’s favorability ratings are underwater with likely voters, with Trump at -5 and Musk at -13.
A majority of voters also feel that Musk, as well as billionaires and CEOs in general, have too much influence over federal government decisions. Nearly 3 in 4 voters (73%) say that billionaires have too much influence over federal government decisions. Additionally, clear majorities of voters think corporations (67%) and CEOs (66%) have too much government influence. While 57% of voters say that Musk specifically has too much influence, significantly lower rates of Independents and Republicans say Musk has too much influence compared with billionaires in general.
When asked which policy they think Trump is most focused on, 53% of voters say immigration, including majorities of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans.
Just 9% of voters, including 11% of Independents and 13% of Republicans, think he is most focused on the economy, despite the economy being top of mind for voters during the 2024 election. Following the economy, 7% of voters say he is most focused on taxes and government spending.
After being provided with a list of terms to describe the Trump administration’s performance so far, 37% of voters say it has been “chaotic,” followed by 25% who say “effective” and 12% who say “decisive.”
The polling indicates that voters think billionaires, and Elon Musk specifically, have too much influence over federal government decisions. It remains to be seen whether Trump will be able to show voters that he can effectively manage the economy, which they do not see as his top priority.
Cover photo attributable to Gage Skidmore.
Survey Methodology
From January 31 to February 2, 2025, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,205 U.S. likely voters nationally using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, geography, and recalled presidential vote. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error associated with the sample size is ±3 percentage points. Results for subgroups of the sample are subject to increased margins of error. Partisanship reflected in tabulations is based on self-identified party affiliation, not partisan registration. For more information please visit dataforprogress.org/our-methodology.