Poll reveals most-hated figure in America... and it will make Donald Trump smile
In July, Gallup surveyed Americans on their views of 14 powerful public figures, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., JD Vance, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Benjamin Netanyahu, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the country's own Commander-In-Chief, President Donald Trump.
But it was Trump's former 'first buddy' who topped the list as the most disliked, the results revealed.
A staggering 61 percent of Americans reported an unfavorable view of Musk, while just 33 percent saw him in a positive light. Six percent had no opinion at all.
His popularity dipped even lower than that of the Israeli Prime Minister, who faced a 52 percent unfavorable rating and a net score of -23.
The billionaire became a familiar figure in Trump's inner circle, spending nearly $300 million to support his campaign last year and maintaining a distinguished role once Trump returned to the White House for a second term.
Musk was then appointed to lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with downsizing the federal workforce and cutting government spending.
However, their once-cozy relationship quickly unraveled, with Musk officially falling out of favor at the White House earlier this summer and becoming embroiled in a very public, online fallout with the president.
In July, Gallup surveyed Americans on their views of 14 powerful public figures, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr ., JD Vance, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and even Benjamin Netanyahu
Following his fall from grace, the Tesla CEO reportedly lost over $34 billion of his personal net worth - all while his reputation took an even steeper dive.
His rapid descent was clear in Gallup's recent poll, which showed Musk's favorability rating plunging from -4 in January to -28 now - a decline even steeper than Tesla's sales drop.
But his public image began to suffer once he joined the Trump administration, dove into controversial MAGA politics and alienated Democrats - resulting in an extremely low net favorability rating of -86.
Musk later alienated many of Trump's supporters by openly criticizing the former president, sparking outrage within Trump's base.
The conflict spiraled into a chaotic fallout, climaxing with Musk's startling claim that Trump's name appears in the Epstein files - dealing a severe blow to his relationships and reputation while also fueling American's distrust in the administration.
July's damning poll revealed the lingering skepticism toward the current administration, as multiple figures in Trump's circle also posted negative net favorability ratings.
Vice President JD Vance saw his unfavorable rating rise from 40 percent in January to 49 percent, resulting in a drop to a -11 net favorability rating.
Former President Joe Biden received a -11 favorability rating, with 54 percent of respondents expressing dissatisfaction. However, his favorability has improved slightly to 43 percent, up from 39 percent in January.
A total of 38 percent of Americans viewed US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth with disapproval, while 26 percent had a favorable opinion and 37 percent expressed no opinion - leading to a -12 net favorability rating.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had the best score within Trump's circle, posting a -5 rating that put him slightly ahead of Biden and Vance.
Apart from Musk - who overwhelmingly had the worst ranking - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio suffered the second largest drop in favorability.
Once widely favored, Rubio now faces increasing criticism as he heads the State Department and National Security Council, while playing a central role in dismantling the USAID program.
Rubio's rating plummeted from a positive 8 in January to a negative 16 in July -perfectly matching Trump - with 47 percent of respondents viewing him unfavorably.
All figures within Trump's inner circle had lower favorability ratings than Democratic politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who held a -4 rating, and Bernie Sanders, who scored an 11.
But even AOC and Sanders, who are relatively popular, were outperformed in favorability by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Despite Trump labeling him a 'dictator,' Zelenskyy earned a favorability rating of 18, with 52 percent of respondents viewing him positively and only 34 percent expressing a negative opinion.
The highest favorability rating went to Pope Leo XIV, who earned a strong score of 46 - and made history as the first American pope.
His numbers closely mirrored the warm reception Pope Francis received when he took the papacy in 2013, earning a 58 percent favorability rating and just 10 percent unfavorable.
Nevertheless, Musk's companies - much like his public image - have also taken a hit, with Tesla reporting a 16 percent drop in net income and a 12 percent decline in revenue in the second quarter of 2025.
A study by Williams College found that Musk's polarizing persona has soured some Americans on electric vehicles altogether - not just Teslas - suggesting his unfavorable influence may be hurting the entire EV industry.
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The Independent
29 minutes ago
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His missiles rain nightly death on Ukraine's cities; Moscow's army launched 270 drones and 10 missiles at central Ukraine just hours after President Zelensky concluded peace talks at the White House. Though Putin's economy is floundering, it is by no means crippled. And while Putin has failed to subjugate the whole of Ukraine to his will, he is on course to accomplish many of his war aims, including the 'liberation' of the Russian-speaking region of the country and blocking Kyiv's membership of Nato. The West carries much of the blame for this failure. Oil and gas are the lifeblood of Russia's war machine – yet from the outset of the war, the US prioritised protecting steady world oil supplies over properly punishing Putin. Europe, too, has imposed 18 rounds of sanctions against Russia – yet itself has continued to find ways to import Russian oil, piped and liquefied gas (LNG), and refined oil products. 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Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom earned money from the gas, and Kyiv collected hundreds of millions in fees for the transit of gas to Europe via pipelines running through Ukrainian territory into Slovakia. Those payments also made Gazprom one of the largest single contributors to Kyiv's state budget. The rest of southern Europe buys billions of piped gas via the Black Sea Turk Stream and Blue Stream pipelines that run from Russia to Turkey, but because it's mixed with gas from Azerbaijan, European customisers can claim they're buying from Baku, not Moscow. Europe now imports more refined Russian oil products than before the war, except that rather than buy directly, much of the petrol, diesel and aviation fuel is refined in India, which has more than doubled its imports of Russian crude and grown rich on the proceeds. Oil and gas are Putin's achilles heel. He needs his economy to survive to keep his war machine running. 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Daily Mail
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Ailing radio star declares bankruptcy after daughter lied that fling with Bachelor star had gotten her pregnant
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Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
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Trump admin plans to screen social media accounts for 'anti-American' views before allowing applicants into US
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'The message is that the U.S. and immigration agencies are going to be less tolerant of anti-Americanism or antisemitism when making immigration decisions,' Elizabeth Jacobs, director of regulatory affairs and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that advocates for immigration restrictions, said on Tuesday. Jacobs said the government is being more explicit in the kind of behaviors and practices officers should consider, but emphasized that discretion is still in place. 'The agency cannot tell officers that they have to deny - just to consider it as a negative discretion,' she said. Critics worry the policy update will allow for more subjective views of what is considered anti-American and allow an officer's personal bias to cloud his or her judgment. 'For me, the really big story is they are opening the door for stereotypes and prejudice and implicit bias to take the wheel in these decisions. That´s really worrisome,' said Jane Lilly Lopez, associate professor of sociology at Brigham Young University. The policy changes follow others recently implemented since the start of the Trump administration including social media vetting and the most recent addition of assessing applicants seeking naturalization for `good moral character'. That will not only consider 'not simply the absence of misconduct' but also factor the applicant´s positive attributes and contributions. 'It means you are going to just do a whole lot more work to provide evidence that you meet our standards,' Lopez said. Experts disagree on the constitutionality of the policy involving people who are not U.S. citizens and their freedom of speech. Jacobs, of the Center for Immigration Studies, said First Amendment rights do not extend to people outside the U.S. or who are not U.S. citizens. Ruby Robinson, senior managing attorney with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, believes the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution protects all people in the United States, regardless of their immigration status, against government encroachment. 'A lot of this administration´s activities infringe on constitutional rights and do need to be resolved, ultimately, in courts,' Robinson added. Attorneys are advising clients to adjust their expectations. 'People need to understand that we have a different system today and a lot more things that apply to U.S. citizens are not going to apply to somebody who´s trying to enter the United States,' said Jaime Diez, an immigration attorney based in Brownsville, Texas. Jonathan Grode, managing partner of Green and Spiegel immigration law firm, said the policy update was not unexpected considering how the Trump administration approaches immigration. 'This is what was elected. They´re allowed to interpret the rules the way they want,' Grode said. 'The policy always to them is to shrink the strike zone. The law is still the same.' USCIS has made several moves as Trump has returned to office to ally with the president's agenda. They have implemented new restrictions in compliance with Trump's executive orders to suspend processing of requests for legal permanent residency for immigrants granted refugee or asylum status, CBS News reports. The Department of Homeland Security said the green card processing pause was necessary to comply with two executive actions issued by the president. 'USCIS is placing a temporary pause on finalizing certain Adjustment of Status applications pending the completion of additional screening and vetting to identify potential fraud, public safety, or national security concerns, in alignment with Mr. Trump's executive actions,' the statement said. According to a presidential proclamation cited by officials, Donald Trump has instructed federal agencies to 'vet and screen to the maximum degree possible all aliens who intend to be admitted, enter, or are already inside the United States.' The administration's tightening of restrictions on immigration policies and procedures are the latest attempts to tackle concerns of national security and fraud. The move comes after Trump questioned the immigration vetting procedures under the Biden administration. USCIS also announced earlier this month that they have updated immigration policy to restrict visa eligibility for transgender women seeking to compete in women's sports. Under the policy update, USCIS will consider 'the fact that a male athlete has been competing against women' as a negative factor when evaluating visa petitions in categories such as O-1A for extraordinary ability, EB-1 and EB-2 green cards for highly skilled workers, and national interest waivers. 'USCIS is closing the loophole for foreign male athletes whose only chance at winning elite sports is to change their gender identity and leverage their biological advantages against women,' said USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser. 'It's a matter of safety, fairness, respect, and truth that only female athletes receive a visa to come to the U.S. to participate in women's sports.' set to host the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.
