Trump’s Ethics Problem: 6 in 10 Americans Question His Profits From the Presidency
About six in 10 Americans believe President Donald Trump has profited from the presidency illegally or unethically, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. The findings reflect concerns about whether Trump has prioritized his personal financial interests since returning to the White House in January 2025.
The survey found that about 40% of U.S. adults believe Trump has profited illegally, while roughly 20% said his conduct was unethical but not illegal. About 18% said he had done nothing wrong, and a similar share said they did not know enough to judge. The responses reflect public opinion and don’t establish that Trump committed a crime. The AP-NORC poll surveyed 2,140 U.S. adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
Americans Say Trump Has Prioritized Personal Business Interests
The poll found that 56% of respondents said Trump had placed “a lot” of emphasis on his personal business interests since returning to office. Another 54% said he had given the same level of attention to the financial interests of his friends and family. By comparison, about one-quarter said Trump had prioritized the country as a whole “a lot,” while roughly one in 10 said he had focused that much on people like them.
Political affiliation was closely associated with respondents’ views of whether Trump had profited illegally from the presidency. About eight in 10 Democrats believed he had done so, compared with roughly three in 10 independents and one in 10 Republicans.
Republican Audra Pelsue, 52, a manager at a laundry machine maker from Syracuse, New York, rejected the allegations in comments reported by PBS NewsHour. “His family has probably benefited, but I don’t think he has,” she said. “It’s Trump derangement syndrome.”
Pelsue compared the criticism of Trump’s business interests with scrutiny of former President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden, who served on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma while his father was vice president.
Trump’s Financial Disclosures and Cryptocurrency Ventures
Trump’s financial interests have also drawn attention to his cryptocurrency ventures and overseas business dealings during his second term. Trump’s financial disclosure filed in June 2026 reported substantial revenue from cryptocurrency-related businesses. It also described an investment of about $500 million by a business linked to the United Arab Emirates’ royal family in a Trump-linked cryptocurrency venture after the 2024 election.
The business relationships have prompted questions about potential conflicts of interest because the administration makes policy decisions affecting industries in which Trump and his family have financial interests. A potential conflict doesn’t establish illegal conduct. The business activities have added to debate over how presidents should separate private financial interests from public responsibilities.
Voters Who Supported Trump Express Concern
Some respondents who expressed concern about Trump’s priorities had voted for him in 2024. Oscar Delgado, a 50-year-old Democrat from Lansing, Michigan, told PBS NewsHour that he felt let down by the president. “He’s not putting the country first,” said Delgado, who works at a Ford metal stamping factory. “I wanted a change, but I didn’t expect this change.”
A separate University of Massachusetts Amherst poll conducted in August found that 53% of respondents ranked the presidency as the most corrupt institution in government. The survey examined perceptions of corruption across government institutions and was separate from the AP-NORC poll.
A Financial Times/Focaldata poll released in October found that 28% of 2,275 respondents approved of Trump’s handling of jobs and the economy. The surveys measured different issues and used separate samples, so their results should not be treated as direct comparisons. The findings come ahead of the Nov. 3, 2026, midterm elections, when Republicans will defend their majorities in the House and Senate.
