An NBC News national survey released yesterday revealed that 40% of respondents believe that Trump’s presidency was “better” than they expected it to be with another 29% labeling it as "worse" and 31% as "about as expected." 

On the other hand, only 14% labeled Biden's presidency as "better than expected," while 42% described it as "worse" and about 44% said it was "about as expected."

NBC News found, halfway through Trump's presidency, that just 29% of registered voters nationwide believed his presidency was “better than expected," 27% labeled it as “worse”, and 43% said it was “about as expected."

Democrats, Republicans, and Independents

When Friday’s poll was studied by party affiliation criteria, 52% of Democrats stated that the Biden administration “met expectations”, 30% revealed it was “better than they expected,” and 18% said it has been “worse”.

As for Republicans, 80% stated that the Trump administration was “better than expected” and only 6% said it was “worse”, while 24% said it was “about as expected”.

Six percent of Independent voters, on the other hand, stated that Biden's tenure had been “better than they expected” and a majority of 52% said it has been “worse”. However, 38% said the Trump administration was “better” than expected, 43% labeled it as "about as expected" and only 18% said it was "worse."

What are their concerns?

The poll revealed that the economy and US border were listed as major issues by the registered voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election, with those critical of Biden concerned about his age and mental acuity.

Other Democrats announced to NBC News that Biden's handling of the Israeli war on Gaza and some of his signature legislative achievements disappointed them.

A New Jersey Democrat, Donnie Holt, a Biden voter in 2020, stated, “Nothing has touched me when it comes to Biden at all that I can say, at least, ‘Yeah, there was a trickle-down," however, she still believes that Trump was not "good for the country" and she has not changed her opinions of him since he left office.

Those who labeled Biden's presidency as “better than expected” explained their choice was based on his administration's opposition to Trump, laws passed to support US infrastructure and combat climate change, and an improving economy since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

By contrast, Republican voters recall Trump’s time in office as a time of "economic growth and stability in foreign affairs."

An Illinois Republican in his mid-50s informed NBC, “I think the economy was growing and the country was secure. Well, we had the border, and we had no wars, we had no wars with the other foreign countries." 

Even some registered Democrats and Independent voters labeled Trump's administration as "better than expected," referencing the way he dealt with the economy and immigration. 

As for those who labeled it as “worse than expected,” they cited his character, his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, and his actions leading up to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

The NBC poll was done between January 26-30 among 1,000 registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.