An Update from the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service
North Carolinians are politically divided over President Donald Trump’s decision-making in a number of policies, according to a Catawba-YouGov poll.
In the June poll, 1,000 North Carolinians were asked whether they were confident (very/somewhat), neutral, or not confident (not very/not at all) in the president’s decision-making capabilities in seventeen different policy areas or issues. The president garnered the most confidence (45 percent or higher) in his decisions on immigration, issuing executive orders, deportations, and diversity/equity/inclusion.
However, North Carolinians lacked confidence in the president’s decision-making regarding bringing the nation together (51 percent not confident), the Russia-Ukraine war (47 percent not confident), and tariffs and de-escalation in the Middle East (both issues at 46 percent not confident).
“Many of North Carolina’s opinions on a variety of issues are well within the margin of error, which naturally reflects the real political divide within the state over confidence in the president’s decisions regarding a number of important issues,” said Dr. Michael Bitzer, director of the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service and professor of politics and history at Catawba College.
The poll, funded by Catawba College’s Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service and conducted by YouGov from June 10-26, 2025, has a margin of error of +/- 3.56 percent for the 1,000 weighted respondents who are 18 and older and live in North Carolina, with larger margins of error among sub-groups. All results should be interpreted as informative and not determinative.
With tariffs back in the news this week, this issue epitomizes the state’s partisan split over the president’s decision-making: overall, 46 percent of North Carolinians lacked confidence while 41 percent expressed confidence in the decisions the president has made on tariffs.
Within the tariff’s policy, partisan differences regarding confidence in the president’s decision-making clearly exist. Among self-identifying Republicans, 75 percent of expressed confidence in Trump’s decision-making on tariffs. Democrats were the exact opposite, with 75 percent expressing no confidence. Independents lack confidence in the president’s decisions about his tariff policies, at 53 percent, to only 31 percent who expressed confidence.
“So many of the topics garnered very close margins of those who expressed confidence versus those with a lack of confidence in the president’s ability to make decisions in his first six months in office,” Bitzer said. “While barely twenty percent of self-identified Democrats expressed confidence on any of the policies or issues asked, at least two-thirds of Republicans expressed confidence. There were two areas earning the lowest Republican confidence in Trump’s decisions: defying court orders, at 61 percent confidence, and bringing the nation together, at 63 percent confidence.”
President Trump garnered the highest levels of confidence in his decision making, at 47 percent each, in two areas: immigration and executive orders. Republicans gave the president 87 percent confidence on immigration, and 84 percent confidence on executive orders. Conversely, Democrats were not confident in the president’s decisions, at 72 and 64 percent on each issue, respectively.
Three areas had the lowest levels of confidence by North Carolinians in the president’s decision-making:
- bringing the nation together, with only one-third expressing confidence, while 51 percent expressed no confidence;
- the Russia-Ukraine war, with only 34 percent expressing confidence to 47 percent no confidence; and,
- Defying court orders was at 36 percent confidence, with 40 percent expressing no confidence.
Notable Numbers:
- Among the three economic issues—the overall economy, tariffs, and inflation & the cost of living—President Trump had between 40 and 42 percent confidence, with 44 to 46 percent expressing a lack of confidence in his decisions on these issues.
- Among the three immigration issues—immigration overall, immigrants as alien enemies, and deportations—the president saw a range of confidence between 38 to 47 percent, while lack of confidence ranged from 41 to 43 percent.
- Among the four issues involving foreign policy, 34 to 39 percent of North Carolinians expressed confidence, while 44 to 47 percent expressed a lack of confidence.
- In the remaining seven domestic policy issues, 33 to 47 percent of North Carolinians expressed confidence, while 37 to 51 expressed a lack of confidence.
- Barely half of White non-Hispanic respondents had confidence in President Trump’s handling of the overall economy, while 59 percent of Black non-Hispanic respondents expressed a lack of confidence.
- A majority of four-year college graduates expressed a lack of confidence in the president regarding tariffs, while respondents without a four-year college degree expressed slight pluralities of confidence in the president.
- Only 9 percent of respondents who voted for Kamala Harris in 2024 had confidence in the president’s efforts to deescalate issues in the Middle East, while 72 percent of Trump 2024 voters expressed confidence (note: this question was when added after the survey went into the field when Israel launched attacks on Iran and the subsequent U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear facilities; the number of respondents was 800).
- Three-quarters of conservative North Carolinians expressed confidence in the president’s handling of diversity, equity, and inclusion, while the same number (75 percent) of liberal North Carolinians expressed no confidence in the president’s actions in this area.
- No surprisingly, half of those who hold a four-year college degree or higher expressed a lack of confidence in the president’s decision to end grants for higher education institutions, while pluralities of non-college degree respondents expressed confidence.
- While a slim majority (within the margin of error) of North Carolinians have confidence in the president on the issue of deportations, 54 percent of North Carolinians who reside in major urban cities were not confident, while those in 54 percent of those in suburban counties and 51 percent in rural counties expressed confidence. Respondents in the suburbs of urban counties were almost evenly divided, 45 percent to 41 percent.
