Trump’s approval plunges among Asian Americans: poll

Disapproval of President Donald Trump’s immigration approach has risen sharply among Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults, with roughly seven in 10 now expressing negative views, up from 58% in March, according to an AAPI Data/AP-NORC poll released this week.

By the numbers: The survey of 1,027 AAPI adults from Sept. 2-9 reveals that approximately two-thirds view Trump’s deportation efforts as going too far. This is a higher share than the roughly six in 10 Black and Hispanic adults, and less than half of white adults, who expressed similar concerns in a separate September poll. The majority of AAPI respondents also reject key enforcement methods, including raids at workplaces, using military or National Guard forces for immigration operations and permitting officers to mask their identities during arrests.

By contrast, Trump has made gains with several other voter groups. Economist/YouGov polling from Oct. 10-13 shows his net favorability among women improving from -28 to -19, while his standing with seniors aged 65 and older climbed from -12 to an even split at zero. His standing with Hispanic citizens also ticked upward, moving from -46 to -35.

The big picture: Asian American sentiment toward Trump has undergone a dramatic shift in recent months. AtlasIntel polling captured his support among Asian American voters falling from 57% in July to 26% by September, a 63-point reversal that coincided with intensified immigration enforcement, including the detention of more than 300 South Korean workers in Georgia that sparked diplomatic tensions. The decline was not an outlier as other polls conducted around the same time recorded similar results, with Washington Post-Ipsos measuring 66% disapproval among Asian voters and Harvard CAPS-Harris finding 62%.

The reversal is especially significant given Trump’s 2024 election performance, in which secured 39% of Asian American votes, marking a five-point improvement over 2020 and what Republicans viewed as meaningful progress with the demographic.

Why this matters: For a diverse, growing demographic in which more than half were born abroad, immigration policy carries particular significance. Current enforcement measures, including masked officers conducting workplace arrests and military participation in deportation operations, resonate deeply within Asian American communities, where collective memory includes the incarceration of Japanese Americans. Such episodes as the Georgia detentions underscore how the enforcement approach may produce lasting political consequences, potentially influencing the 2026 midterm elections and altering Asian American voting patterns for years ahead.