Observation
Regarding Donald Trump’s specific policies, every one of them we tested received clear majority disapproval from the Australian public, with the exception of his demand for allies to spend more on defence (evenly split at 49% approve and disapprove).
Australians are most disapproving of President Trump’s pressure on Denmark to sell or hand over the self-governing territory of Greenland to the United States (89%). President Trump has repeatedly refused to rule out using force to pursue this objective.
Eight in ten Australians also disapprove of Donald Trump’s use of tariffs to pressure other countries to comply with his administration’s objectives (81%). At the time of fieldwork, President Trump had announced plans for 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to the United States, including from Australia, as well as announced or threatened tariffs against China, Canada, Mexico, and several other countries. He had not yet announced his 2 April ‘Liberation Day’ tranche of tariffs on countries around the world.
Three-quarters of Australians disapprove of US withdrawal from the World Health Organization (76%) and international climate change agreements (74%). A similar majority of Australians disapprove (74%) of President Trump negotiating a deal on the future of Ukraine with Russian President Putin, whereby Ukraine may be asked to accept a loss of territory. President Trump’s combative Oval Office meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took place just before fieldwork for this Poll.
To a lesser extent, Australians disapprove of significantly reducing US spending on foreign aid (64%), and mass deportations of undocumented migrants (56%).