The most and least popular politicians in the U.S.
Welcome to YouGov's weekly newsletter The Surveyor, with new polling data, insights, and charts on politics, life, and other topical issues — from our U.S. News team.
This week, we're spotlighting surveys about politicians from both parties, Canada, jobs, high school, space tourism, and the Federal Reserve.
Nothing but net (favorability)
What do Americans think about your favorite — or least favorite — politicians? Odds are, YouGov has you covered.
Last month, we asked Americans' opinions about 120 different politicians, from near-universally recognized figures such as Donald Trump and Barack Obama, to more obscure figures such as Katie Britt and Seth Moulton.
Trump is the best-known figure of the 120, with 97% of U.S. adult citizens expressing an opinion about him. Obama is the most popular, with a net favorability of +22. (Net favorability is the percent with a very or somewhat favorable opinion minus the percent with an unfavorable opinion.)
The least popular figure is former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, with a net favorability of -45.
Only seven of the 120 figures polled were recognized by more than 50% of Americans and more liked than disliked: Obama (+22), Bernie Sanders (+12), Ben Carson (+6), George W. Bush (+3), Mark Kelly (+2), Amy Klobuchar (+1), and Gretchen Whitmer (+1).
But the survey goes a lot deeper than just overall popularity. We also broke down popularity within political parties, so you can see which Democratic politicians are most and least popular among Democrats, and which Republican politicians are most and least popular among Republicans. We even break down which politicians are popular among particular demographics within their own party, such as men vs. women, young vs. old, and college-educated vs. non-college-educated.
Rather than bombard this newsletter with 120-row tables, though, I'll refer you to our website, where you can comb through the data to your heart's content!
Just don't forget to come back here and finish the rest of the newsletter.
Charting opinions
Canadian Conservatives are divided on how their views would translate into U.S. politics
Most Liberals in Canada would vote in line with U.S. Democrats while Conservatives in Canada have more mixed feelings about how they would vote. Although Conservatives are most likely to say that they would vote mostly for Republicans — 29% say so — almost as many Conservatives say they would vote mostly for Democrats (22%) or neither of the two parties (26%). (Franchesca Fu)
Only 25% of Canadians now consider the U.S. to be an ally or friendly, down 8 percentage points from February 2025. In YouGov’s latest survey, Canadians are most likely to consider the U.S. unfriendly (44%), up from 36%. Majorities of New Democrats (83%) and Liberals (77%) consider the U.S. to be unfriendly or an enemy, compared to about half (52%) of Conservatives. (Franchesca Fu)
Most American workers say their jobs make meaningful contributions to the world
43% of Americans say all (10%) or most (32%) U.S. jobs make a meaningful contribution to the world, while 25% say some or none do. The 20% of American workers who view their own jobs as meaningless are much more likely to say that some or no U.S. jobs have meaning than are the 62% of Americans who see their own jobs as meaningful (52% vs. 29%). (David Montgomery)
Crushes, cliques, and classes: What most Americans remember about high school
Americans share many common high school experiences, especially four that each are shared by more than three-quarters. These are having a crush on someone, having a group of friends, taking a class they loved, and taking one they hated. Around half of Americans say they either loved (18%) or liked (31%) their high school experience, while 28% felt neutral about it, 12% disliked it, and 8% hated it. From a list of 14 adjectives, Americans are most likely to say, shy, independent, creative, and awkward described them as teenagers. (Taylor Orth)
Quick takes
Space tourism: 31% of Americans say they'd pay to be a passenger on a commercial space flight, if they could afford it; 55% say they would not
Violence: 80% of Americans say political violence is either a very big problem (40%) or somewhat of a problem (40%)
Facilitation: 64% of Americans support a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision ordering the government to return a man wrongly deported to El Salvador; more support than oppose this decision among Democrats (83% vs. 6%), Independents (60% vs. 13%), and Republicans (47% vs. 26%)
The Federal Reserve:
Rates: 47% of Americans want the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, while 13% want rates to stay the same and 3% want them raised
Trust: 28% of Americans say they trust Donald Trump more than Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to run the economy, while 29% trust Powell more; Democrats prefer Powell (54% vs. 4%), while Republicans prefer Trump (59% vs. 8%)
Independence: Maintaining the Federal Reserve's independence from presidential administrations draws more support than opposition from Americans (57% vs. 14%), Democrats (75% vs. 6%), and Republicans (44% vs. 23%)
Elsewhere
Polling partnerships
The Economist + YouGov on Trump's job approval, the economy, the stock market, tariffs, taxes, and the Republican budget proposal
YouGov + CBS on tariffs and the economy
Polling abroad
Polling in the press
Donald Trump’s approval rating is dropping (Economist)
Dating dealbreakers? Poll finds opposing views on trans rights and Trump top list (Miami Herald)
Obama, Sanders, Ben Carson among most liked politicians, surveys show (The Hill)
Why Canada Stays Out of America's Clutches (Macleans)
Estrangement from family used to be 'more rare, more frowned upon,' therapist says—not anymore (CNBC)
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This newsletter is compiled by Carl Bialik
So what does popularity or unpopularity matter -Trump is still the most powerful individual on the planet, Katie Porter holds no office from which to project political power, and Barack Obama attempted to pass on some his net favourability to get Kamala Harris elected President of the USA, and failed! Cheups!