AP-NORC Poll: Most Americans See Ethical, Legal Issues in Trump’s Presidential Profits/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ About six in 10 Americans believe President Donald Trump is profiting from the presidency in ways that are illegal or unethical, according to a new AP-NORC poll. A majority say he has strongly prioritized his personal business interests, while relatively few see comparable attention to people like themselves. The White House denies conflicts of interest, and Republicans are substantially less critical than Democrats.
Quick Look
- Ethics concerns: About four in 10 adults believe Trump is acting illegally; roughly two in 10 view his conduct as unethical but legal.
- Other responses: About two in 10 say he is doing nothing wrong, while a similar share lack enough information to judge.
- Personal priorities: Some 56% say Trump has emphasized his own businesses “a lot.”
- Family and friends: Some 54% say he has given substantial attention to their business interests.
- Public priorities: About one-quarter see strong emphasis on the country overall; roughly one in 10 see it on people like themselves.
- Partisan divide: Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to believe Trump has broken the law.
- Administration position: The White House maintains that Trump has no conflicts and acts for the country.
Deep Look
Poll Finds Broad Concern About Trump’s Business Interests
NEW YORK — Most Americans believe President Donald Trump is benefiting financially from his office in ways that are either illegal or unethical, according to a new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey.
Approximately six in 10 U.S. adults place his conduct in one of those categories.
About two in 10 believe he is doing nothing wrong, while a similar proportion say they do not know enough to assess the allegations.
The responses measure public perceptions rather than establish legal findings.
The survey also indicates that Americans see Trump as more focused on his personal finances than on their needs.
“His wealth increases,” said Barbara Thaxton, an 87-year-old independent and retiree from Summerfield, Florida, “but the people in the country are just barely getting by.”
Trump Dismissed Conflict Concerns as Family Ventures Expanded
At the beginning of his second term, Trump minimized concerns about conflicts of interest.
“I found out that nobody cared,” he told The New York Times.
Unlike during his first presidency, he lifted his self-imposed restriction on overseas private-sector deals involving his family business.
He also launched several cryptocurrency ventures.
Only about one-quarter of adults say he has emphasized his personal business interests “only a little” or “not at all,” including fewer than half of Republicans.
White House Denies Financial Conflicts
The White House has repeatedly rejected accusations that Trump and his family are profiting from his position.
It maintains that he has no conflicts of interest and makes decisions solely for the country’s benefit.
However, Trump’s required June financial disclosure reported more than $1 billion from new cryptocurrency businesses after he eased regulation of the industry.
One major venture received a $500 million investment after his election from a United Arab Emirates business connected to the royal family.
It also received assistance from a cryptocurrency company founded by a Chinese billionaire facing legal trouble in the United States.
Overseas Real Estate Deals Add to Scrutiny
The Trump Organization reached eight foreign real estate agreements during the first year of his presidency.
Many involved authoritarian or one-party countries where governments influence private business and have interests in U.S. tariff decisions, military protection or relations with Trump.
Those commercial relationships form part of the backdrop to the survey’s findings.
Democrats Are Most Likely to See Illegal Conduct
About four in 10 Americans overall believe Trump is acting illegally, while approximately two in 10 consider his conduct unethical but not illegal.
Among Democrats, roughly eight in 10 believe he has broken the law.
Oscar Delgado, a 50-year-old Democrat who supported Trump in 2024 because he expected improvements, now describes the president as “turning greedy.”
“He’s not putting the country first,” said Delgado, a Ford metal stamping factory worker from Lansing, Michigan. “I wanted a change, but I didn’t expect this change.”
Republicans and Independents Are Less Convinced
Approximately three in 10 independents and one in 10 Republicans believe Trump is acting illegally.
About two in 10 in each group view his behavior as unethical but legal.
Most Republicans either say he is doing nothing wrong or do not have enough information to judge.
“His family has probably benefited, but I don’t think he has,” said Audra Pelsue, a 52-year-old Republican from Syracuse, New York. “It’s Trump derangement syndrome.”
Pelsue, a manager at a laundry machine manufacturersaid critics apply different standards to Trump’s family and Joe Biden’s.
“Look at Hunter Biden!” she said, referring to his position on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma while his father was vice president. “It was OK for Biden kids to benefit, but it’s not OK for Trump’s?”
Majority Sees Strong Focus on Personal and Family Businesses
The survey found that 56% of Americans believe Trump has placed “a lot” of emphasis on his personal businesses since returning to office.
A similar proportion, 54%, say the same about the business interests of his friends and family.
Only about one-quarter believe he has given that level of attention to the country overall.
Roughly one in 10 say he has focused “a lot” on people like themselves.
Republicans offer a more favorable assessment. About half say Trump has strongly prioritized the country, compared with roughly one-quarter who say he has similarly emphasized his own business interests.
Still, only about one-quarter of Republicans believe he has given that much attention to people like them.
Supporters and Critics Offer Contrasting Assessments
John Bartus, a 67-year-old Republican and part-time supermarket worker from Twin Falls, Idaho, pointed to Trump’s agreement to donate his $400,000 annual presidential salary.
“It seems like his business interests are a part of his life, but it doesn’t seem like he lets that interfere with what’s going on in the country,” Bartus said. “He puts it on the back burner.”
Lisa Fernandez, a 57-year-old Democrat and retired math teacher from Edinburg, Texas, reached the opposite conclusion.
“He’s exploiting it for his own needs and his family and making a profit off the people who he is supposed to be serving,” she said. “His whole reason for being is to enrich himself and take what he can take without consequences.”
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