As Musk gained power in Washington, his popularity has fallen, an AP-NORC poll finds

WASHINGTON – Elon Musk spent years gathering cachet arsenic a concern titan and tech visionary, brushing speech critics and skeptics to go the richest idiosyncratic connected the planet.

But arsenic Musk gained powerfulness successful Washington successful caller months, his popularity has waned, according to a canvass from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Just 33% of U.S. adults person a favorable presumption of Musk, the chain-saw-wielding, late-night-posting, campaign-hat-wearing nationalist look of President Donald Trump’s efforts to downsize and overhaul the national government. That stock is down from 41% successful December.

“It was a shame that helium crashed and burned his reputation,” said Ernest Pereira, 27, a Democrat who works arsenic a laboratory technician successful North Carolina. “He bought into his ain hype.”

The canvass recovered that astir two-thirds of adults judge Musk has held excessively overmuch power implicit the national authorities during the past fewer months — though that power whitethorn beryllium coming to an end. The billionaire entrepreneur is expected to permission his medication occupation successful the coming weeks.

Musk is noticeably little fashionable than the wide effort to pare backmost the authorities workforce, which Trump has described arsenic bloated and corrupt. About fractional of U.S. adults judge the Republican president has gone excessively acold connected reducing the size of the national workforce, portion astir 3 successful 10 deliberation helium is connected people and 14% privation him to spell adjacent further.

Retiree Susan Wolf, 75, of Pennsylvania, believes the national authorities is excessively large but Musk has “made a messiness of everything.”

“I don’t spot him,” she said. “I don’t deliberation helium knows what he’s doing.”

Wolf, who is not registered with a governmental party, said Musk’s backstage assemblage occurrence does not construe to Washington.

“He thinks you tally a authorities similar you tally a business. And you don’t bash that,” she said. “One is for the payment of the people, and the different is for the payment of the corporation.”

Much of the downsizing has been done done alleged the Department of Government Efficiency, oregon DOGE, which was Musk’s brainchild during past year’s campaign. Thousands of national employees person been fired oregon pushed to quit, contracts person been canceled and full agencies person been brought to a standstill.

Musk has succeeded successful providing a dose of daze therapy to the national government, but helium has fallen abbreviated of different goals. After talking astir cutting spending by $1 trillion, helium has acceptable a overmuch little people of $150 billion. Even reaching that magnitude could beryllium challenging, and DOGE has regularly overstated its progress.

He is expected to commencement dedicating much clip to Tesla, his electrical automaker that has suffered plummeting revenue portion helium was moving for Trump. Musk told investors connected a caller league telephone that “now that the large enactment of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency is done,” helium expects to walk conscionable “a time oregon 2 per week connected authorities matters.”

Musk, successful his enactment for the administration, has continued a governmental improvement toward the right. Although the South African-born entrepreneur was ne'er casual to categorize ideologically, helium championed the combat against clime alteration and often supported Democratic candidates.

Now helium criticizes “the woke caput virus” and warns of the illness of Western civilization from the threats of amerciable migration and excess authorities spending.

Musk’s progressively blimpish authorities are reflected successful the polling. Only astir 2 successful 10 independents and astir 1 successful 10 Democrats presumption Musk favorably, compared with astir 7 successful 10 Republicans.

In addition, portion astir 7 successful 10 independents and astir 9 successful 10 Democrats judge Musk has excessively overmuch influence, lone astir 4 successful 10 Republicans consciousness that way.

Mark Collins, 67, a warehouse manager from Michigan who has leaned Republican successful caller years, said Musk “runs a nice, choky ship” astatine his companies, “and the authorities decidedly needs tightening up.”

“He’s cleaning up each the trash,” helium said. “I emotion what he’s doing.”

Republicans are overmuch little apt than Democrats to beryllium disquieted astir being affected by caller cuts to national authorities agencies, services oregon grants. Just 11% said they are “extremely” oregon “very” acrophobic that they oregon idiosyncratic they cognize volition beryllium affected, portion astir two-thirds of Democrats and 44% of independents person those fears.

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The AP-NORC canvass of 1,260 adults was conducted April 17-21, utilizing a illustration drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to beryllium typical of the U.S. population. The borderline of sampling mistake for adults wide is positive oregon minus 3.9 percent points.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.