US President Donald Trump and American billionaire Elon Musk-Tesla
The dizzying pace and speed of the appointments are consistent with Mr. Trump’s promise to voters that he will be a force for change in the country and a return to the unpredictable style of governance that characterized his first term in the White House.
But only about 3 in 10 Americans are “extremely” or “very” confident that Mr. Trump will choose qualified people to serve in his administration. Most Republicans say they have high confidence.
Mr. Trump has promised to reform Washington with an aggressive approach, including the creation of a Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, a nongovernmental task force charged with finding ways to cut federal staff and programs and minimize federal regulations, to be led by billionaire Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
The poll also finds that confidence in Mr. Trump’s ability to manage government spending and perform other key presidential duties, including overseeing the military and the White House, is also low.
Democrats and independents most likely to question the president-elect’s leadership
This low confidence is generally held by Democrats and independents. A large share of Democrats are distrustful of Mr. Trump’s abilities on all these fronts — about three-quarters say they are “not at all confident” that he will be able to effectively manage the White House, government spending or the military, or choose qualified people for his Cabinet.
Meanwhile, about 4 in 10 independents say they are “somewhat” or “not at all” confident in Mr. Trump’s ability to execute these responsibilities, while about 2 in 10 are “extremely” or “very” confident.
Confidence among Republicans higher, but not by much
Confidence among Republicans is higher, but not by as much as the level of skepticism among Democrats. About 6 in 10 Republicans are “extremely” or “very” confident in Mr. Trump’s ability to pick qualified people to serve in his Cabinet and manage the White House, the military and government spending.
About 2 in 10 Republicans are “moderately confident,” and another 2 in 10 are “somewhat” or “not at all” confident.
President Biden faced similar challenges early in his term
When Mr. Biden took office in 2021, the public also had some doubts about his ability to handle some of his key responsibilities — but unlike Mr. Trump, where concern is at similar levels for different responsibilities, they were more confident in Mr. Biden’s ability in some areas and less so in others.
When he entered the White House, Mr. Biden had served eight years as President Barack Obama’s vice president, as well as decades in the Senate, and he campaigned touting those years of experience.
A separate AP-NORC poll conducted shortly after Mr. Biden took office — where the question was worded slightly differently — found a higher level of confidence in Mr. Biden’s ability to appoint qualified people to his cabinet and manage the White House than in his ability to manage the military and government spending.
Flori Bruqi
