Did Elon Musk's popularity decline while at DOGE? Here's what polls show

Miami Herald

2 days ago

As Elon Musk's brief tenure within President Donald Trump's administration comes to an end, he leaves with a significantly diminished approval rating, polls show.
On May 30, Musk officially left the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — the organization established by Trump to cut costs across the federal government — after leading it for four months.
His departure was anticipated since, as a 'special government employee,' he was prohibited from working for the government for more than 130 days in a year.
'I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,' the billionaire SpaceX CEO wrote in a May 28 post on X. 'The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.'
Trump, in turn, thanked Musk for his service and claimed that he was not really leaving 'because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way.'
During his short stint at DOGE, Musk undertook a flurry of major initiatives, many of which were controversial and resulted in legal challenges.
On his watch, about 250,000 federal employees were bought out or fired, including at the Treasury Department, the Department of Education, the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Through his actions, Musk claims to have saved $175 billion in taxpayer money, though independent analyses suggest this figure is much lower, according to Axios.
Here is how his approval rating has changed throughout his time at DOGE, according to multiple polls.
Declining approval rating
According to a December YouGov poll — conducted one month before Musk joined DOGE — 48% of Americans held a favorable view of the South African-born businessman. A smaller share, 44%, had an unfavorable view.
But, by February, these figures were reversed. His favorability rating fell to 42% — and it was eclipsed by an unfavorability rating of 52%.
This divide only grew over time. An April poll found his favorability rating stood at 39%, while his unfavorability rating had climbed to 55%.
A series of surveys conducted by the Marquette University Law School bore out the same trend.
In a February poll, 41% of respondents said they had a favorable view of Musk, while 53% held an unfavorable view.
By May, a smaller share of respondents, 38%, indicated they had a favorable view of the billionaire, while a larger share, 59%, said they had an unfavorable view.
Similarly, polling done by AP-NORC has confirmed this decline in support.
In a January survey, 36% of respondents had a favorable view of Musk, while 52% had an unfavorable view. By April, this gap had widened, 33% vs. 57%, respectively.
His shrinking popularity is largely a result of shifting opinions among Democrats — with opposition growing from 77% to 87%. Independents, too, became more disenchanted — with their unfavorability rating rising from 50% to 58%.
Republicans, meanwhile, have been steadfast in their support. Favorability ratings among GOP respondents held firm at 68% between January and April.
Further, most Americans appear happy with Musk's departure from government. In a May 29 YouGov poll — fielded one day after his post on X — 56% of respondents said he should leave, while just 23% said he should stay.
Musk addressed the criticism DOGE has received — which includes outrage at cuts to cancer research, air traffic and international aid — in an interview with CBS News, conducted shortly after he left the Trump administration.
'It's a bit unfair because, like, DOGE became the whipping boy for everything,' he told the outlet. 'So, if there was some cut, real or imagined, everyone would blame DOGE.'