Can You Guess How Americans Feel About Trump’s Platform?

Trump is such a well-known quantity that voters are fairly set in how they feel about him. 538 maintains a running average of Trump’s net favorability rating — the difference between the average share of Americans who say they have a favorable view of the former president and the average share who say they have an unfavorable view. A negative net favorability rating means more Americans have an unfavorable view of him than a favorable one.

Trump’s re-entry into the presidential race after losing in 2020 was controversial. After that defeat, he stoked doubts about the integrity of U.S. elections, and he was even indicted in two separate cases in connection with his efforts to overturn the 2020 election: one in federal court and one in Georgia. He was also indicted for allegedly mishandling classified documents and became the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime when a jury in Manhattan found him guilty on 34 charges in a case related to hush-money payments made to hide an affair with a porn star during the 2016 campaign.

These cases have weighed on Trump over the course of the campaign, but they aren’t necessarily created equal. How seriously do you think Americans are taking each of them?

If elected in November, Trump will be the oldest person ever elected president in the U.S. (He’s 78 years old.) Fears about President Joe Biden’s age — he is 81 — and his mental fitness helped drive him out of the race, and similar questions about Trump’s capabilities and possible age-related decline have surfaced as well.

Trump famously promised to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border during his first campaign for president in 2015 and 2016. As president, he instituted a ban on immigration from predominantly Muslim countries and implemented a policy of family separation at the border.

On the campaign trail this year, Trump has routinely attacked Biden and Harris for their policies at the border and for the fact that immigration increased during their administration. And if he wins again, Trump has promised to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

While Trump’s policies on immigration are generally popular, Democrats would rather center the conversation on abortion. Trump has bragged about appointing the U.S. Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Though Trump personally has waffled on abortion rights, abortion is currently banned or severely restricted in 22 states thanks to that decision, and many in his party want a national abortion ban.

But the economy remains the top issue for voters. Trump has promised to reduce inflation for Americans who’ve been paying higher prices for goods and services since the COVID-19 pandemic ended. And he’s hoping that rosy memories of the economy under the first three years of his presidency will carry him to victory.

Trump’s economic proposals include imposing a 10 percent tariff on foreign goods and a 60 percent tariff on goods specifically from China. Most economists agree that this proposal would raise prices for American consumers, and that his tax plan might have unintended consequences like increasing the deficit. But will Trump’s support for higher tariffs hurt his campaign?

Trump has a built-in advantage on issues that remain top of mind for voters, like the economy and immigration. But questions about Trump’s character, fitness for office and overall unpopularity have dogged him since he entered politics. How voters weigh those opposing concerns will become clearer as we head toward November.