AAPI Survey Reveals Deep Disapproval Of Trump and Administration Policies
India-West News Desk
WASHINGTON, DC – A comprehensive new study released by AAPI Data and the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research reveals a deepening divide between the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and the Trump administration.
The report, based on data collected in early 2026, depicts a population increasingly concerned about the high cost of living, skeptical of military intervention, and largely opposed to current immigration enforcement strategies.
According to the findings, Donald Trump’s job approval among AAPI adults stands at just 30%. This dissatisfaction is rooted in a perception that his policies are exacerbating financial and social stressors.
A staggering 73% of AAPI adults believe Trump has hurt rather than helped the cost of living, while 69% say the same regarding health care costs. These economic anxieties are pervasive, with half of the community citing the cost of groceries, housing, and taxes as major sources of stress.
The study highlights a significant generational and partisan divide.
Younger AAPI adults under the age of 30 are particularly critical, with 79% stating that the president has negatively impacted their cost of living, compared to 62% of those aged 60 and older. This economic pessimism has led to a historic low in long-term outlooks; only 29% of AAPI adults believe today’s youth will achieve a better standard of living than their parents.
Immigration remains a flashpoint of contention. “We’re also seeing opposition to policies that may not involve violence or violations of due process, but still involve things like banning immigrants from entire countries where there is a history of visa overstays or deporting immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder and executive director of AAPI Data told the Associated Press.
While the administration has prioritized border security and deportations, 61% of AAPI adults feel these actions have done more harm than good -a figure significantly higher than the 42% reported among the general U.S. population. Furthermore, 67% of respondents believe the administration has gone “too far” in its efforts to deport immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.
The AAPI community also holds a distinct view on the benefits of immigration. While 75% see legal immigration as a major driver of economic growth, a majority (54%) also see illegal immigration as a contributor to economic growth, a sharp contrast to the 42% of the general population who share that view. This perspective aligns with a broader unfavorable view of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with 73% of AAPI adults expressing a negative opinion of the agency.
On the global stage, the community is voicing strong opposition to American interventionism. Approximately 71% of AAPI adults believe the administration has gone too far in using the U.S. military to intervene in foreign countries. This sentiment is nearly universal among Democrats (89%) but is also shared by a notable 34% of AAPI Republicans.
The poll also reflects a lack of personal affinity for the administration’s leadership. Favorability ratings for Donald Trump, JD Vance, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Marco Rubio hover around 20% within the AAPI community, consistently trailing their ratings among the general public.
Conducted between February 2-9, 2026, the study surveyed 1,197 AAPI adults in multiple languages. With a margin of error of 4.6 percentage points, the results suggest that as the 2026 midterm cycle approaches, the AAPI electorate remains a formidable and largely critical bloc regarding the administration’s current trajectory.
