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The general image of the political leadership elite in the United States – regardless of whether they belong to the ruling Republican or Democratic Party – is currently extremely poor. This is the result of a new representative survey conducted by the US opinion research institute Pew in the run-up to the current budget dispute and impending government shutdown. The image problem affects both the presidential team of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, as well as the respective party leaders in the two chambers of the US Congress, such as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, and the opposition leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer from New York.

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All of these politicians are viewed more unfavourably than favourably by Americans. Fifty-eight per cent have a negative opinion of Trump, while 40 per cent have a positive opinion; 51 per cent have a negative opinion of Vice President Vance, while 40 per cent have a positive opinion. At least both are known to most Americans, while leading congressional politicians apparently have a significant name recognition problem. For example, 56 per cent of those surveyed say they have never heard of Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

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According to the institute, the decline in the image of Democrat Schumer among his own party members since last year has been particularly noticeable. As majority leader under the Biden administration, 47 percent of Democrats saw him positively and 26 percent negatively; now the ratio has reversed into 39 percent negative and 35 percent positive.

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Nevertheless, Trump's approval ratings have remained relatively stable for months – albeit with a downward trend – and his popularity is highest among Republicans, now at 78 per cent, while it stands at 40 per cent among the general population and six per cent among Democrats. However, shortly after his inauguration in January this year, the US president's approval rating was still at 95 per cent.

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According to a Pew survey in August, Trump's customs, budget and tax policies appear to be contributing to his lower approval ratings. 61 per cent of Americans disapprove of the rising tariffs on imports from abroad, while 38 per cent approve of them. Even Republicans have repeatedly criticised the huge national debt, which is set to rise by over $3 trillion over the next ten years.

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Twice as many respondents say Trump is making the government's work worse rather than better (53 per cent to 27 per cent). Unsurprisingly, this includes a particularly high number of Democrats, namely 87 per cent. Fifty-five per cent of Republicans believe the president is doing a better job, but 16 per cent disagree. gd

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All charts can be found here: Pew Research Center