Does Trump respect the Constitution? What Americans said in poll compared to first term

Brendan Rascius, The Charlotte Observer on Feb 19, 2025

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During his inauguration, President Donald Trump took an oath to support and defend the U.S. Constitution. Close to half of Americans, though, do not believe he respects the founding document, according to new polling.

In the latest SurveyUSA poll, 46% of respondents said they don’t think Trump respects the Constitution, while 44% said they believe he does. Nine percent said they weren’t sure.

By comparison, in a February 2017 poll, conducted just weeks after Trump began his first term, the numbers were flipped. Forty-five percent of respondents said Trump respects the Constitution and 41% said he does not, marking a 6-point shift.

The latest poll — conducted Feb. 13-16 — sampled 2,000 U.S. adults and has a margin of error between 1.8 and 2.8 percentage points.

The results varied greatly based on partisan affiliation, with 81% of Republicans saying Trump respects the Constitution and the same share of Democrats saying he does not. A majority of independents, 54%, said he does not respect the founding document.

The results were also skewed along racial lines, with 52% of white respondents saying the president respects the Constitution and 65% and 51% of Black and Hispanic respondents, respectively, saying he does not.

Further, the poll asked respondents whether they believe Trump thinks he is above the law.

A majority, 57%, said he thinks he’s above the law, while 36% said he does not think this. Seven percent said they were not sure.

Respondents were also asked whether Trump cares more about the American people or himself. Fifty-one percent said himself, while 42% said the American people and 7% were not sure.

When the same question was asked about former President Joe Biden, the results were slightly different. A plurality, 44%, said he cares more about himself, while 43% said he cares more about the American people. Fourteen percent said they were not sure.

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