Digging into Americans' sour views on both political parties: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

In today’s edition, we have our latest poll findings on Americans’ opinions of both political parties in the opening months of the Trump administration. Plus, Kristen Welker lays out three things to watch as the president approaches his 100-day mark in office. And Lawrence Hurley answers this week’s reader question related to the growing tensions between the executive and judicial branches.

Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here.

— Adam Wollner

Americans are down on both political parties

The state of the two political parties is weak, according to a new batch of results from the NBC News Stay Tuned Poll powered by SurveyMonkey — but for slightly different reasons.

Three months into Republicans having total control of Washington, 44% of Americans view the GOP favorably, while 55% view it unfavorably, Bridget Bowman and Ben Kamisar report. Independents are largely responsible for driving those numbers down, with just 30% holding a favorable opinion of the Republican Party.

The picture is even bleaker for the Democrats as they’ve struggled to find their path forward after the 2024 election: The party is viewed favorably by 40% of Americans and unfavorably by 60%.

Independents are slightly more positive toward the Democrats (36% favorable) than the Republicans. Instead, the problem for Democrats is coming from inside the house, with 1 in 5 (22%) self-described Democrats viewing their party unfavorably. By comparison, just 13% of Republicans said the same of their party.

We’ve seen this play out in practice at the outset of the new administration. Republicans have largely been in lockstep with Trump, who is pursuing an agenda designed to appeal to his base. Meanwhile, Democrats have engaged in public debates over how to most effectively counter Trump and what the party stands for.

Further underscoring these dynamics is that partisans say they are more loyal to a movement than a party. Among self-identified Republicans, 56% considered themselves to be more a supporter of Trump’s MAGA movement than of the GOP. The same number of Democrats said they were more aligned with progressive causes than the Democratic Party. 

Overall, the poll finds that a plurality of adults (38%) say neither political party fights for people like them.

Exactly how this will all manifest on the campaign trail heading into the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential election remains unclear. As Bridget and Ben note, there has been some recent evidence of an appetite for third-party options.  

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was polling in the double digits at times during the 2024 race as an independent presidential candidate before eventually fading and backing Trump. And Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, a former Democrat, is running as an independent in what’s expected to be a high-profile and competitive Michigan governor’s race.

Read more findings from the poll →

Three big questions as Trump approaches 100 days in office

By Kristen Welker

President Donald Trump will reach the 100-day mark of his second term on Tuesday. His first few months in office have been marked by efforts to drastically reshape the federal government, ramp up deportations of undocumented immigrants, and impose sweeping tariffs on countries across the globe.

As we approach that milestone, here are three things that I’ll be watching:

1. Can Trump reverse his economic numbers?

Trump won a second term in large part because of voters’ sour views of the economy and concerns about high prices.

But multiple polls have shown that voters are not satisfied with how the president is approaching those issues. Our new NBC News Stay Tuned Poll powered by SurveyMonkey found 60% of Americans disapproving of how Trump has handled inflation, while 40% approve. 

Meanwhile, there is an ongoing debate within the Republican Party over just how long voters are willing to give the president to turn things around on the economy, and how that could affect next year’s midterm elections.

2. Can Trump strike deals on trade and foreign policy? 

Trump promised to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on his first day in office, but war rages on. The president said in a Time magazine interview that the pledge was “an exaggeration,” but that he believes he will be able to stop the war. He also expressed optimism that he could strike a nuclear deal with Iran.

The president has also suggested that his tariff policy would lead to a flurry of trade deals. He told Time that those deals would be announced “over the next three to four weeks.” 

3. How will Trump navigate limits on his power?

The early months of the Trump administration have also seen repeated clashes with the judiciary, raising questions about just how much the president will test the limits of his power. 

Trump told Time that he would not defy the Supreme Court. But the high court ruled that the administration must facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador, which it has not done. 

Trump also suggested he is open to deporting U.S. citizens who commit crimes to foreign prisons, telling Time, “I would love to do that if it were permissible by law. We’re looking into that.”

We’ll dive more into how voters are feeling about the Trump presidency on Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” where Steve Kornacki will break down new data from our NBC News Stay Tuned poll. I’ll also talk exclusively with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

✉️ Mailbag: Trump vs. the judiciary

Thanks to everyone who emailed us! This week’s question comes from Kathy West:

“What are the possible consequences for the president if he ignores the rulings of the Supreme Court?” 

To answer this, we turned to our senior Supreme Court reporter, Lawrence Hurley. Here’s his response:

It’s a difficult question to answer because it would be a situation in which it is impossible to separate law from politics.

The courts, including the Supreme Court, only have limited powers to assure that their rulings are complied with. As is frequently noted, including by some in MAGA world, the Supreme Court does not have an army to enforce its decisions.

What courts can do is seek to hold recalcitrant government officials in contempt, either criminally or civilly. But as we have reported, while that gives courts some leverage, there are limits.

Among other things, it is generally assumed the president himself cannot be held in contempt. A secondary issue is that the U.S. Marshals Service generally enforces court orders but, as a unit of the Justice Department, is ultimately subject to the president’s authority.

All of these are reasons why a failure to comply with court rulings ultimately becomes a political question. First, a ferment of public pressure could lead to an administration changing course. If that does not work, then of course Congress could hold the president directly accountable by impeaching him and removing him from office.

That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner.

If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com

And if you’re a fan, please share with everyone and anyone. They can sign up here.