President Donald Trump has lost MAGA on one key policy issue–but retains strong support from his core base elsewhere, according to data from a new national poll.
Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment via email.
Why It Matters
The Angus Reid Institute has found that MAGA Republicans largely praised Trump’s first‑year agenda, but the cohort did not offer a clearly positive verdict on the impact on their own household health care costs, distinguishing it from other issues where they remained supportive.
By contrast, Republicans who do not identify as MAGA were sharply negative on core kitchen‑table concerns, scoring the cost of living at minus 30 and health care at minus 20 when asked whether they were pleased or upset by changes during Trump’s first year, signaling potential vulnerabilities for the party with its own base beyond the MAGA wing as the nation looks towards November’s midterms.
What To Know
A new Angus Reid Institute survey of 1,838 U.S. adults found Republicans who identify with the MAGA movement backed Trump on most major issues during his first year back in office, although they were divided on changes to household health care costs, marking a rare weak spot as the country heads toward midterm elections.
The online poll, fielded January 16–20, 2026, highlighted a widening gap between MAGA and non‑MAGA Republicans: while MAGA identifiers expressed broad approval of Trump and his use of executive power, non‑MAGA Republicans registered steeply negative views on the cost of living and health care, underscoring the salience of pocketbook pressures that could shape turnout and persuasion in the midterms.
Overall job approval: 37 percent of Americans approved of Trump’s first year of his current term, while 56 percent disapproved, according to the Angus Reid Institute.
Partisan splits: Approval stood at 93 percent among MAGA Republicans and 69 percent among non‑MAGA Republicans, compared with 6 percent among Democrats and 18 percent among independents or others, the institute reported.
Issue ratings: Of 17 items tested, only reducing illegal immigration at the southern border and the performance of the stock market received more praise than criticism from Americans overall, according to the survey.
Most criticized items: Discussions of annexing Greenland, handling of the cost of living, handling of health care, and the Epstein files drew the most negative reactions in the poll.
Intra‑GOP divide on executive power: MAGA Republicans strongly supported Trump’s tendency to bypass Congress, while non‑MAGA Republicans expressed far less enthusiasm, according to the institute’s summary of net scores.
Priorities: Cost of living and inflation ranked as the top national issue for 53 percent of respondents, 20 points ahead of health care at 33 percent, the survey found.
The poll’s sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to region, gender, age, household income, and education, based on the U.S. census.
For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding. The survey was self‑commissioned and paid for by the Angus Reid Institute.
What People Are Saying
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Newsweek in a previous emailed statement: “President Trump took office with a resounding mandate from the nearly 80 million Americans who voted for him to secure our border, end Joe Biden’s inflation crisis, remove criminal illegal aliens from our streets, and restore American Greatness both at home and abroad.
“He has firmly cemented his legacy as the Peace President, having ended eight wars and counting and saving millions of lives. He is delivering on his promises, and the American people remain firmly aligned with the President’s agenda to Make America Great Again, regardless of the Mainstream Media’s so-called polling.”
Trump said in a recent Truth Social post: “Fake and Fraudulent Polling should be, virtually, a criminal offense. As an example, all of the Anti Trump Media that covered me during the 2020 Election showed Polls that were knowingly wrong.”
He added: “There are great Pollsters that called the Election right, but the Media does not want to use them in any way, shape, or form. Isn’t it sad what has happened to American Journalism, but I am going to do everything possible to keep this Polling SCAM from moving forward!”
What Happens Next
The findings suggest health care costs and the broader cost of living could test Republican unity as midterm campaigns intensify, particularly among non‑MAGA Republicans who registered negative assessments on both issues in the poll.
