Donald Trump’s standing with Hispanic adults has dropped notably since he took office at the start of the year, according to a new poll.
Polling by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research suggests growing unease among a voting bloc that was crucial to his 2024 re-election victory. The October survey shows that 25% of Hispanic adults now hold a “somewhat” or “very” favorable view of Trump, down sharply from 44% in an AP-NORC poll conducted just before he began his second term.
At the same time, the share of Hispanic respondents who believe the nation is headed in the wrong direction has risen from 63% in March to 73% in October.
Hispanic adults also expressed less confidence in Trump’s management of the economy and immigration, two key issues that once bolstered his support during last year’s campaign. Overall approval of his job performance has also fallen, with 41% approving of Trump’s handling of the presidency in March, compared with just 27% this month.
Hispanic voters played an crucial role in helping Trump win the presidency for the second time; nearly half of Hispanic voters backed him in 2024. His support among Hispanic voters was 12 points higher than in 2020 (48% in 2024, 36% in 2020). On the other hand, voting for the Democratic candidate fell from 61% to 51%.
Now the president’s decline in popularity comes as the Trump administration continues its hardline immigration enforcement, which has directly affected Latino communities across income levels.
Only about one-quarter of Hispanic adults are in favor of deporting all immigrants living in the US illegally, while roughly half of them are opposed to the policy and the rest say they don’t have an opinion, according to the poll.
Economists see immigration and economic concerns as intertwined, with both low-wage and high-skilled Latino workers feeling the impact of trade uncertainty and strict immigration measures. Studies have shown immigrants actually help improve local economies by boosting consumer spending and filling labor shortages.
The poll also highlights rising financial strain within Hispanic households. Respondents reported higher levels of stress about groceries, housing, healthcare and wages than the general US population.
Among younger Hispanics and men in the community, negative perceptions of Trump have grown. Roughly two-thirds of Hispanic adults under 45 and Hispanic men now view the president unfavorably, up from about half in September 2024.
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Trump’s plunge in popularity is even evident among Hispanic Republicans, a key coalition in his voter base. The poll shows that about 65% of Hispanic Republicans said they have a “very” or “somewhat” favorable view of the president, a notable drop from a September 2024 poll by AP-NORC that showed 83% viewed him at least “somewhat” favorably.
The research found that, in general, immigration remains a top personal concern for Hispanic adults. About two-thirds said the issue is important to them, compared with around six in 10 white adults and half of Black adults.
The AP-NORC poll of 1,289 adults was conducted on 9-13 October. The margin of error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points, and for Hispanic adults overall is plus or minus 6.9 percentage points.
