The people didn’t elect Elon Musk.
The world’s richest man’s approval rating is at its lowest level and a majority of voters say they don’t favor his outsized role in President Donald Trump’s administration.
“The American people did not sign up for this. They voted in Donald Trump. They did not vote in Elon Musk,” CNN’s Harry Enten said on air. “They don’t want this. The American people don’t want this. No. No. No.”
Fifty-three oppose Musk having a key role in Trump’s administration, as opposed to 39% of voters who support it, Enten said. Only 36% of independent voters support him having a key role.
Musk’s net favorable rating has “fallen out” at -11 points, compared to his positive 29 points in 2016.
Trump, meanwhile, may have returned to the White House under a honeymoon phase among Americans. But his “barrage of executive orders” may be costing him some of that goodwill, according to a recent poll.
According to the Reuters survey, 45% of Americans approve of Trump’s performance, down slightly from 47% in a Jan. 20-21 poll. And those who disapprove is larger at 46% from that same time period, an increase from 39%.
The poll showed 70% disapproved of Trump’s decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and that 59% disapproved of his attempt to end birthright citizenship.
Trump, however, got higher marks on immigration (48% approve of Trump’s approach on immigration) and 61% of people said they support downsizing the U.S. government.
The survey comes after a majority of voters — 52% — said they approve of the job he’s doing, matching a record high from his first term in March 2017, according to a recent Morning Consult poll. Forty-four percent of voters disapproved of the new president.
The Morning Consult survey showed Trump is starting his second term more popular than when he took office in 2017.
At the same point in his first term, 49% of voters approved of his job performance, and 41% disapproved, according to Morning Consult.