Authoritarian, Just Unpopular, or Both? Trump’s Actions Under a Microscope

A majority of voters view as authoritarian Trump’s use of executive orders to target political enemies (54%), his firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics director over jobs data he disliked (50%), and his deployment of the National Guard to multiple U.S. cities (50%).

November 10, 2025

Blueprint surveyed voters nationwide on 25 actions President Trump has taken during his second term, asking whether each is authoritarian and whether voters support or oppose them.

Among voters overall, all actions tested receive majority opposition.

A majority of voters view as authoritarian Trump’s use of executive orders to target political enemies (54%).

And near-majorities of voters see as authoritarian Trump’s firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics director over jobs data he disliked (50%), his deployment of the National Guard to multiple U.S. cities (50%), firing DOJ lawyers who prosecuted Jan. 6 rioters (49%), ordering an FBI raid on critic John Bolton’s house (49%), ordering masked ICE raids nationwide, with agents refusing to show badge numbers or warrants (49%), suggesting that the FCC pull broadcast licenses for NBC and ABC (49%), creating DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) and using it to choke off and rework government grants and payments into tools of political power and punishment (48%), pardoning Jan. 6 rioters while punishing those who investigated them (48%), and threatening to investigate Chris Christie for criticizing him on TV (48%).

The actions with the highest combined shares of voters who view the action as authoritarian and oppose it are:

Signing executive orders to investigate or persecute political enemies (54% view as authoritarian; 60% oppose)
Suggesting that the FCC pull broadcast licenses for NBC and ABC (49% view as authoritarian; 62% oppose)
Threatening to investigate Chris Christie for criticizing him on TV (48% view as authoritarian; 62% oppose)
Firing DOJ lawyers who prosecuted Jan. 6 rioters (49% view as authoritarian; 60% oppose)
Firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because of jobs data he disliked (50% view as authoritarian; 59% oppose)
Ordering masked ICE raids nationwide, with agents refusing to show badge numbers or warrants (49% view as authoritarian; 60% oppose)
Pardoning Jan. 6 rioters while punishing those who investigated them (48% view as authoritarian; 60% oppose)
Engaging in self-dealing and personal enrichment (42% view as authoritarian; 64% oppose)

Voter views of whether or not Trump’s behavior is authoritarian largely follow party lines, but intensity of opinion is stronger among Democrats. At least 60% of Democrats see all but four Trump actions tested as “authoritarian.” Meanwhile, though there are no Trump actions that more than a third of Republicans identify as “authoritarian,” there are also no Trump actions that more than 60% of Republicans identify as “not authoritarian.” Across the board, Republicans are significantly more likely than Democrats to say they are “not sure” whether a given action is authoritarian.

Large majorities of Republicans support actions such as deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles, Washington, and potentially more cities (71%), creating DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) and using it to gut or dismantle federal agencies (62%), implementing huge tariffs on Mexico and Canada (62%), targeting California Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Tish James with investigations (59%), and ordering masked ICE raids nationwide, with agents refusing to show badge numbers or warrants (58%).

However, 12 of the 25 actions receive support of less than 50% from Republicans. These include ordering an FBI raid on critic John Bolton’s house (49%), suggesting that the FCC pull broadcast licenses for NBC and ABC (48%), firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because of jobs data he disliked (46%), accepting a luxury jet from Qatar (46%), replacing the decor of the Oval Office to make it more gold (46%), musing about firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell (42%), expansion of Trump golf courses and towers abroad (India, Vietnam, Qatar) (39%), welcoming billions in investment from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE into Trump family businesses (38%), threatening to investigate Chris Christie for criticizing him on TV (37%), Trump family investing in crypto, creating their own coins, and using political power to promote them (36%), doubling of his personal fortune during this period (35%), and engaging in self-dealing and personal enrichment (30%).

When it comes to independents, pluralities or majorities view 23 out of the 25 Trump actions tested as authoritarian (the exceptions are the expansion of Trump golf courses and towers abroad and replacing the decor of the Oval Office to make it more gold). Generally, the share of independents who say they are “not sure” about a given action is roughly equal to the share of Republicans who say the same. However, independents are less unsure than Republicans on: Threatening to investigate Chris Christie for criticizing him on TV (25% of independents “not sure” versus 32% of Republicans), engaging in self-dealing and personal enrichment (24% versus 30%), suggesting that the FCC pull broadcast licenses for NBC and ABC (23% versus 28%), signing executive orders to investigate or persecute political enemies (22% versus 26%), systematically purging inspectors general, military JAGs and officers, and federal prosecutors (27% versus 31%), ordering an FBI raid on critic John Bolton’s house (28% versus 31%), the Trump family investing in crypto, creating their own coins, and using political power to promote them (25% versus 28%), and trying to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook (29% versus 32%).

A majority of independents oppose all Trump actions tested, with engaging in self-dealing and personal enrichment (68%), suggesting that the FCC pull broadcast licenses for NBC and ABC (67%), deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles, Washington, and potentially more cities (67%), and ordering masked ICE raids nationwide, with agents refusing to show badge numbers or warrants (67%) receiving the highest opposition.

Older voters (ages 65 and over) are significantly more likely than younger voters to view Trump actions as authoritarian. While a majority of older voters believe 18 of the 25 actions tested are authoritarian, there are no actions that more than 50% of voters ages 45-64 or 18-44 see as authoritarian. However, younger voters are more likely than older voters to express uncertainty. On all actions tested, at least a quarter of voters 18-44 and at least 17% of voters ages 45-64 say they are “not sure” whether it’s authoritarian; meanwhile, only 9% to 21% of voters 65+ say they are “not sure” about any given action. A plurality of voters 45-64 view all actions tested as authoritarian; this is also true of voters 18-44, with the exceptions of the expansion of Trump golf courses and towers abroad and replacing the decor of the Oval Office to make it more gold.

A majority of voters 65+ oppose all actions tested, with the share opposition to each respective action ranging from 56% to 72%. Majorities (ranging from 52% to 62%) of voters ages 45-64, oppose 19 of the 25 actions, with a plurality opposing the rest. Twenty-four of the 25 actions receive majority opposition (ranging from 51% to 62%) from voters ages 18-44, with a plurality opposing the last one. As with the question of whether a given action is authoritarian, younger voters say they are “not sure” whether they support or oppose the action in higher shares than older voters.

ABOUT THE POLL

Blueprint surveyed an online sample of 3,028 voters from September 19 to September 24, weighted to education, gender, race, survey engagement, and 2020 election results. The survey was conducted in English, and its margin of error is ±2.1 percentage points.

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Alyssa Cass
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Evan Roth Smith
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